Jeter’s PS line: .309/.377/.469 in… 554 PAs, I think (495 ABs + 51 walks + 5 HBP + 3 sac flies). That’s basically a season.

His career line: .317 /.387/.461.

Strikingly similar, wouldn’t you say? Now we all give him some extra credit, b/c in the playoffs you’re typically facing better teams, so matching his career stats is good. Yay for him.

Beckett has been amazing in his 10 games (9 starts) in the playoffs, no doubt about it. Mussina has been good (3.42 ERA) in his 23 games (21 starts). Wang’s sporting an ugly line in his – get this – 4 starts. Four.

To round out my comparisons, I give you Andy Pettitte:

35 games and starts, 218 1/3 innings, 3.96 ERA. His career ERA? 3.85. How about that…

I just get irritated when this stuff comes up, for several reasons. One is that people tend to read more into a couple of starts (playoffs) than they should, in terms of a player’s value (note: this doesn’t mean the games weren’t important – they were hugely important. But as an indicator of how good a players is, they don’t mean much). The other is the common misconception that Mussina hasn’t gotten it done as a Yankee in the playoffs. This isn’t your fault – a close friend of mine and I have this argument all the time once we’ve had a few beers. This is the same guy who will stubbornly claim Pettitte is the better playoff pitcher (the numbers prove this clearly false). I tend to get a little fired up.

Anyway, as has been pointed out, Josh Beckett went 1-1 in the ’03 WS. He didn’t single-handedly beat the Yankees. He had a lot of help (including some from Joe Torre). Overall, Beckett’s playoff performance has been excellent. Quite impressive. It’s just that his regular season results say more about him as a pitcher than the playoffs do – a lot more. Sample size.

Give a player enough chances in the playoffs and they will perform at a similar level as their regular season performance. This means Beckett, given more chances, will eventually have a bad game, and Wang (given more chances) will have good ones. Look at Jeter’s postseason stat line. IIRC, he’s got roughly 1 seasons’s worth of PAs in the playoffs, and whaddya know, the numbers are quite similar to his career line.

Josh Beckett went 1-1 against the Yankees in the 2003 World Series as I’ve said a few times. The game he lost was one where Mike Mussina outpitched him. It doesn’t take long to look up the numbers, and it’s especially pertinent when they don’t support your point.

i wasn’t bagging moose for his postseasons — i was recognizing that postseason performance is hugely important, and that beckett’s dominance in the ’03 WS was a direct cause of championship. as far as i know, beckett has an unimpeachable postseason record. moose’s may be good, too, no time to check the #s, but he wasn’t getting WS in these games you cite, while beckett was, at least in ’03, throwing a complete game WS clincher. (didn’t he beat us 3x that series?) the pen can’t blow it when you go the distance.

but i was responding primarily to ben’s comment that winning a ring is a “tired argument” (huh?), seemingly you have to “get there” first.

it’s a lot easier for the yanks to get there than it is to win when they are there. the last dozen years makes that point pretty easily.

And if you mean 2003, that’s a ridiculous statement. He won 1 game and lost another. He may have beaten them in a clinching game, but he didn’t win his previous start against them. That’s not single-handedly doing anything.

his numbers are not just good – they are all-time good. – up there with gibson – take a look