2005 MLB Playoff's: Johnson, Wakefield Take the Mound Today

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Randy Johnson

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It's interesting to note that the Red Sox and Yankees down to the wire division race put them in a position to get their best starter into just one game in the LDS. Tim Wakefield and Randy Johnson each take the mound today in their teams respective game threes.

Wakefield's job is to keep the Red Sox alive for one more day. Tim's strength is his ability to throw strikes with his knuckleball. He only walked 68 batters this season. He'll mix in a fast ball and a curve that slower than his knuckler. When he's right, hitters are off balance all game. Tim gave up five home runs to the White Sox this year in 12 1/3 innings. When he's off, the slow straight stuff doesn't fool anybody.

He'll face Freddy Garcia. Freddy posted about the same ERA as last year despite a fall off in his strikeout rate and a rise in hits allowed per 9. The reason for the steady ERA was poor performances by his opponents with runners in scoring position. They hit just .197, 38 for 193.

In New York, the Prime Time game pits Johnson against Paul Byrd. Byrd relies on superb control, walking just 28 batters this season. Lefties hit Byrd well, posting a .306 batting average and a .473 slugging percentage against the righty. With Posada out of the lineup, I suspect we'll see Tino and Giambi playing, maybe even Cano batting second.

Johnson finished the season with a personal six game winning streak over his last eight starts. He posted a 1.93 ERA in that time. The one thing that worries me about Randy vs. the Angels is that his strikeouts were down, 7.7 per 9 in that time period. He's not as dominant as he once was, and anything that makes it easier for the Angels to get the bat on the ball hurts the Yankees.

Enjoy!