Why Do Red Sox - Yankee games take so long?

A friend asked me this question last night. Granted, there were twenty-seven runs scored yesterday so a 4 hour 21 minute game was expected but how about Friday night's game?A 5-4 eleven inning win by the Sox lasted exactly the same 4 hours and 21 minutes.

Anyone that watches a major league baseball game live or at home realizes that it can be a long experience. By the way, not having a game clock is one of the many reasons why I love baseball. But Red Sox - Yankee games take it to another level. MLB contests average just under three hours. I could not find what these rivalry games average but my guess would be at least 45 minutes more than the league average. The question is why? There are two reasons but both are caused by the intensity of the rivalry.

Both teams use their bull pens extensively each time they play each other. Because each of the eighteen regular season games is intensified, both managers use their relievers to match up against specific hitters. Mike Myers (hum the Halloween movie theme here) is a great example. As a Red Sox he was used versus Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui. The Yankees signed him to get out David Ortiz. He would appear in each and every game because the managers were attempting to play the percentages. This happens every time the two teams play. Both Friday and Saturday's games featured ten relievers. Each reliever is granted eight warm up pitches from the game mound. Factor in the manager's visit, the time it takes for the pitcher to arrive from the bull pen and my best guess is this must take about 2 minutes and 30 seconds (the length of a commercial break). If this happens 10 times we are looking at an additional 25 minutes at the very least.

The next factor leading to the extended game time focuses on the intensity of the rivalry. Both teams know each other very well. Due to this familiarity, players and coaches know each other so well that the game slows down. All MLB teams have advanced scouts that prepare game plans. These reports focus a great deal on tendencies of players. The Red Sox and Yankees have played so many games over the years that the game slows down. For example, during the Grady Little years, the Yankees were constantly stealing third base off the Sox (often times while the infield was in a shift versus Giambi -- arrrrghhh). Little was fired due to his lack of paying attention to these reports. Remember 2003's Game 7 with Pedro being left in the game too long? Regardless, since Terry Francona has become the skipper less of that has happened. In fact, you see the Sox pitchers stepping off to change up their pace to the plate. Johnny Damon was picked off second base attempting to steal at a key junction yesterday. All of this advance scouting leads to a longer game.

I could not find any support for my last reason but I will provide the rationale. Many of these rivalry games are nationally televised (Fox or ESPN). I'm pretty sure the time between innings is longer for a national broadcast rather than a game on NESN or YES. This is due to the increased advertisement revenue.

Tonight's game is a ESPN Sunday night game that starts at 8:05 PM. My guess is the last pitch will be thrown at 11:50 PM. A 3 hour 45 minute game. I can't tell you who will win but game that will approach midnight is a safe bet.

Is there such as thing as too much starting pitching?

There is an old baseball adage that you can never have too much starting pitching. No team in MLB has the depth on the mound as the Red Sox do.

A look at each major league ready starting pitcher the Sox have at their disposal;

Josh Beckett is the ace of the staff. At 28 years old he was worth trading Hanley Ramirez for.

Jon Lester is one of the best young left handers in all of baseball. The most valuable guy on the team's 40 man roster.

Dice-K, regardless of current frustrations, is a pitcher that finds ways to win games. The strongest #3 pitcher in baseball?

Tim Wakefield is an ageless wonder. Eats up innings every year.

Brad Penny got bombed the other day and started his press conference by noting he felt really good out there. Interesting. He did win a combined 32 games in 2006 and 2007.

Justin Masterson is a versatile side winder that will get a start tomorrow.


Clay Buchholz has major league stuff but has struggled with the mental part of the game.

Michael Bowden along with Buchholz is always desired by other organizations when the Sox are exploring trades.

John Smoltz is a future hall of famer that should be ready by early June.

The Red Sox have nine guys that would start for every other major league team (Yes, the Yanks would gladly take Bowden, Buchholz or Wakefield over Chamberlain. Thus allowing Joba to go to the bull pen). Obviously, depth at any position is a great thing but there are drawbacks. There are just so many innings and starts available in a season. Guys like to be in a routine. Start, run, toss, throw long, bull pen / side session, toss and then get next start. This is why six man rotations have not worked. Guys want to throw every fifth day. Having guys (Buchholz, Bowden) in the minors that are major league ready helps the franchise but not necessarily the player. Players can grow frustrated "wasting away" in the minors. Often times, confidence counts for more than people realize. Knowing that you are being counted on by the organization goes a long way in one's progression as a player.

The idea of having so many arms available is due to the fact that team's rarely go through an entire season injury free. Also, team's are able to bring guys along slowly (remember the Mets' three studs of Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher?). Many players do not recover from being rushed to the majors. Craig Hanson is a great example. In the current day and age of pitch counts and limiting the number of innings for all pitchers, it makes sense to stock up on as many quality arms as possible.

I am going to agree with the idea of never having enough starting pitching. The Sox are able to rest Dice-K for a couple of weeks and start Masterson. I'm not sure the Sox lose too much with this exchange. Personally, I cannot wait to see Smoltz toe the rubber for the Sox. But, I can be patient because I know the Sox won't rush him back. The depth (bull pen too) the team has on the mound, should give Red Sox Nation much confidence over the course of the season.

Five games down ... 157 to go

First blog of the new season. Sorry about the delay. Some observations from the first week ...

• Brad Penny is a huge man. I'm not saying he has a Schilling-esque belly, he is just big.
• The bullpen is the best in baseball. Delcarmen, Lopez,Okijima, Masterson, Ramirez, Saito and Papelbon should be able to both hold leads and keep the Sox in games.
• The starting rotation of Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, Wakefield, and Penny with Buchholz and Smoltz in reserve is very good. Theo did a nice job here.
• Why can't Dice-K pitch for the Sox like he does for Japan in the WBC?
• Opening Day at Fenway featured the cool sight of the players walking down to the field from the aisles. Very nice touch by management. Let's introduce the visiting Yankees the same way.
• Something seems wrong with big #34 of the Sox. Pitchers are feeding him some mistakes and he is missing them. Let's hope that it is just a timing thing. Youk batting third may not be far away.
• The new / retro, gray, away jerseys are going to take some getting used to. The big red socks on the sleeve seem out of place.
• I know Wake eats up innings and can go on some serious streaks but I personally would rather see Buchholz or even Bowden in there. He still fools people but he also comes in flat alot and batters eat that stuff up.
• The Rays and Yanks scare me. Both teams are very talented. Consider how bad the AL Central is this year (Royals, Twins, ChiSox, Indians and Tigers oh my) and the lack of a quality team to battle the Angels in the AL West. My big worry is that the triumvirate of Big AL East teams beat up on each other over the course of 36 games against each other.