From Mark Feinsand:
The more notable number to me was this: the win was the seventh in a row for the Yankees, giving them five separate streaks of at least seven victories. That’s the most by any team in the majors since the 1998 Yankees. You remember that team, right? They won 114 games in the regular season before winning the World Series.
By no means am I saying that the 2009 version is ready to make history the way that ’98 team did, but Mariano Rivera told me he sees a lot of similarities between the two.
“That ’98 team, we were never satisfied and we never let up,” Rivera said. “We were always pushing and pushing, and that’s what I see with this team. That was a special team and this is becoming a very special team, too.”
The Yankees are on pace to win 104 games, which would be the most for the franchise since 1998 and match the second-best win total for a Yankees team since 1961.
I love this year’s club, but there are very few teams that can legitimately compare to the 1998 Yankees. Those Yankees led the AL in ERA+ at 116 (3rd in MLB), while the next closest team came in at 112. They led all of baseball in OPS+ at 116, with the next club at 110. This year’s club, on the other hand, is skewed a bit towards the offensive side, dominating OPS+ (120 to 107 for the next best team), but are 15th in ERA+ at 103. While the roster as currently constituted has pitched exceptionally well, the fact is that the 1998 team was spectacular for most of that season.
The current iteration of the Yankees is excellent, and has a good shot of taking home the trophy. They also have this championship vibe about them, with the feeling that they are never out of a game and are likely to turn a contest around if the opposition gives them an inch. That being said, they are unlikely to be considered in the same light as the 1998 Yankees, no matter how much they accomplish from this point forward. This is no slight of this year’s club. Rather, it is an affirmation of the greatness of the 1998 Yankees.
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12 Responses to Like The '98 Yankees?
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TIQ IQ
if this years nyy team doesn’t get the starting pitching (burnett) straightened out it will be more like the 04 through 07 editions then the 98 edition, great regular season but not built for the playoffs.
This is a much better pitching team than those versions. Since the start of May, this has been one of the best pitching teams in baseball.
Yeah I think we are built well for the playoffs, lets not forget for a while AJ Brunett carried this team when CC wasn’t quite CC and Joba was struggling I see no reason he can’t be lights out again and if that is the case our 1-4 can be real strong with the best bull pen and offense in baseball.
The 98 team was good from April to September. That’s why they got all those wins. This team has onlly been good from June to August. I’d like to see how it compares in ERA+ during those months.
I’m pretty sure they have the best pitching in the AL since June 1, but I’m not sure how to figure that out. My BB-Ref skills leave much to be desired.
Since June the Yankees bull pen has the best ERA in baseball and the most wins and saves in baseball and the whole pitching staff has the most strike outs in baseball but I can’t get you team ERA stats.
I think, if you ignore April, this team compares well with ’98 in many ways. It is well balanced – the loss (or rest) of a single player will not produce a long slump. There can be legitimate debate over who is the top starter, and the bullpen has depth.
Something else to point out besides the winning streak is that the Yanks have had only four 3 game losing streaks, and one 4 and 5 game losing streak each. They’ve not lost more than 2 in a row since August 1st, and not more than 3 since May 7th (the last loss before ARod returned). And over any period of 10 games, there is only one stretch (May 1-12 or 2-13)in which the team was 3-7. Otherwise the team has been no worse than 4-6.
What does this mean? Not only can they reel off long winning streaks, but it is rare for them to go into a prolonged slump. That’s going to make it very hard for any team to knock them out early in a playoff series.
That is a very good point, it seems like when the team loses they immediately turn around and do whatever it takes to end that losing streak at one… very resourceful team…
I remember one year in the 90s the Os seemed to have a really streaky team – they’d reel off a bunch of wins, then follow with a bunch of losses. They often seemed on the brink of contending, then they’d fall back. That the Yanks have put together these winning streaks without any major losing streaks since mid-spring, just proves the Yanks are a very good team, not just a streaky one.
Yeah I was actually afraid that it may b a streak that was originally carrying them after the all star break but the more you watch them play you realize it’s just well played baseball and very few guys are having mental lapses they seem to be on there game most of the time.
This team reminds me of the 98′ team like no other edition. The record is not as impressive because of the failures of Wang, and other bullpen arms that are no longer coming in with the game on the line. (Ramirez, Veras). Girardi used those guys in the bullpen effectively last year and would continued except they were ineffective this year and we lost many games figuring out just what we had. Since Hughes went to the bullpen, and we started marching a starter that could actually keep us in a game for 4-5 innings (unlike Wang was doing) this team has been playing .750 baseball. They peel off winning streaks like only the 98 team could, and losses are like intermittent blips which go away for a week. This team plays with a swagger that only the 98 team had and since mid-June or so to now have probably won at the same clip or better. I love it and can’t stop watching. LET’S GO YANKS!!!
This team reminds me of the 98? team like no other edition. The record is not as impressive because of the failures of Wang, and other bullpen arms that are no longer coming in with the game on the line. (Ramirez, Veras). Girardi used those guys in the bullpen effectively last year and would continued except they were ineffective this year and we lost many games figuring out just what we had. Since Hughes went to the bullpen, and we started marching a starter that could actually keep us in a game for 4-5 innings (unlike Wang was doing) this team has been playing .750 baseball. They peel off winning streaks like only the 98 team could, and losses are like intermittent blips which go away for a week. This team plays with a swagger that only the 98 team had and since mid-June or so to now have probably won at the same clip or better. I love it and can’t stop watching. LET’S GO YANKS!!!