American League Divisional Series

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

This is as David versus Goliath as it gets. The mighty Yankees against a small market team that never gave up believing in a postseason berth. But let’s see if the Yankees can sweep the series as so many predict.

As mentioned in the first preview, there is an extra day of in this series, which mean that both teams could operate with a 3-man rotation. The New York Yankees will start CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte. The Twins started Scott Baker in yesterday’s tie-breaker against the Detroit Tigers and therefore announced Brian Duensing, Nick Blackburn and Carl Pavano as their starters. I would not be surprised if they inserted Scott Baker if the series goes beyond Game 3.

Needless to say that Sabathia is better than Duensing and Pettitte is better than Pavano. Experts say that the Twins have to attack A.J. Burnett to avoid being swept, and this is true to a certain extend but I believe that the Twins best chance for a win comes in Game 3 when they face Andy Pettitte.

The New York Yankees clearly have the better starting pitching and should dominate the first 6 innings, or more, of the games.

The bullpens look pretty similar. The Yankees had a 3.91 ERA in the regular season and the Twins were slightly better with a 3.88 ERA. Mariano Rivera (NYY) and Joe Nathan (MIN) have both been very successful. The Yankees closer converted 44 of 46 save opportunities and Nathan went 47 for 52. Other players to watch are Phil Hughes who had a 3.03 ERA and Jon Rauch who finished the regular season with a 3.63 ERA.

Both teams can rely on their respective bullpens but I’d rather choose New York’s relievers if the game’s on the line.

The line-ups match up just like the rotations, a definite superiority of the Yankees. The Yankees were batting .283 in 2009 and .299 in September. It doesn’t seem to make a difference whether they are facing a left-handed pitcher or a righty. They are dangerous from top to bottom.

The Twins had a season batting average of .274 but they got hot in September where they were batting .283. They seem to fare better against southpaws, hence watch out for Game 3 in the Metrodome. Their lineup is not even remotely as deep as their opponent’s and they will miss Justin Morneau dearly.

Even Minnesota’s momentum will not be good enough to match the lineup of the Yankees. Huge advantage in favour of the Yanks.

As much as I admire the Twins for what they’ve achieved in 2009 they will only play one more game in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.