Tuesday, August 26, 2008

1988 Yankees versus 2008 Yankees: Starting Pitchers

All this talk about Dream Team versus Redeem Team has us thinking.

Whose starters are better?

1988 Yankees or 2008 Yankees?

Before you choke on your salad -- the comparison is a good one.

The 1988 Yanks finished 85-76.

Today's team stands at 70-60.

You know enough about the Ponsons, Pettittes, Pavanos, Rasners, and Mussinas of the world -- so we'll focus on selected Yankee arms from 20 years ago.

Tommy John (LHP)

Pictured here at rest between starts, Tommy John hit 6 batters (hurting none).

John Candelaria (LHP)

An absolute ass-magnet at home and on the road, Candy Man paced the club with 13 wins.

Richard Dotson (RHP)

With a fastball as straight as the brim of his Yankee cap, Dotson served up 27 home runs.

Rick Rhoden (RHP and golf legend)

Our very own Magnum, PI threw 5 complete games.

The Honorable Alois Terry Leiter (R-New Jersey)

At age 22, Al Leiter couldn't run for Congress, but he showed promise by registering 4 balks in only 57.3 innings pitched.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What ever happened to the other Leiter, Mark?

Anonymous said...

In a 161-game series, I would pick the 2008 Yankee team because of its superior utility infielders (Betemit, Ransom)over (Tolleson, Meacham.)

We have no modern day Lee Guetterman. But neither does anyone else.

BernBabyBern said...

I'd pick the 2008 Yanks also, for this reason. With Meacham playing for the 1988 squad, he couldn't coach third for the 2008 team, thus greatly decreasing the possibility of major baserunning fuck-ups.