Tonight, the Yankees face off against the Blue Jays in what I perceive as the only real test the Yankees will face during the stretch of games that began on May 28 (against Cleveland) and will end on June 13 vs. Houston.   Here are the pitching matchups:

  • Burnett (6-2, 3.28) vs. Cecil (5-2, 3.81)
  • Pettitte (7-1, 2.48) vs. Romero (5-2, 3.14)
  • Vazquez (4-5, 6.06) vs. Morrow (4-4, 6.00)

Talk about pitching matchups that seem very even on paper.  The Jays have been mashing lots of HR.  That is the key to this series in my opinion. Burnett and Vazquez have to limit the HR.  If they do, the Yankees should be able to take this series.   The next test won’t come until the Phillies show up in NY in Mid-June followed by Subway Series II.

By the way, Interleague makes no sense whatsoever this year.  Just look at how different the schedules are among AL east teams:

  • NYY – NYM 6, AZ, LAD, HOU, PHI (opp win % .475)
  • BOS – PHI 6, AZ, LAD, COL, SF (opp win % .514)
  • TAM – FLA 6, SD, AZ, HOU, ATL (opp win % .492)
  • TOR – AZ, COL, SD, SF, STL, PHI (opp win % .525)
  • BAL – WAS 6, NYM, SF, SD, FL (opp win % .516)

Because of the dumb “Natural Rivals” BS, the Yankees miss SF and their tough pitching, and the NL West leaders SD (and their tough pitching), while Toronto with no “rival” misses the Dodgers, but gets Philly and St. Louis?  Tampa plays the rival marlins 6 times, but no Dodgers and gets ATL?  Just dumb.