Finishing off the Recap of the Twins Series

Here are some number to look at and ponder before we start looking ahead to the ALCS which will begin on Friday at 7:57PM on Fox. I will also start looking at the NLCS which is a rematch from last year between the LA Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Here are some of the numbers from the Yankees/Twins series. 1.42 era for the Yankees starters 2 runs given up by the Yankees bullpen in 10 innings. 5 runs scored by the Yankees in the final innings of the three games. 6 homeruns hit by the Yankees. 15 total runs scored by the Yankees. The Yankees finished 10-0 against the Twins including the postseason. The Yankees had 10 pitchers appear in the ALDS. A-rod had a 455 batting avg which is tops on the team. A-rod also had 2 homeruns and 6 rbi's. His 2 homeruns were 2 more then he had in his last 16 postseason games. 99,470 was the combined attendance of Games 1 and 2 at Yankee Stadium. Those are numbers to ponder and think about but I will have a post up later looking ahead to the ALCS and NLCS. This is going to be a great series between the Angels and Yankees.

Giants roll to another victory

The New York Giants had a very easy 44-7 win over the Oakland Raiders who are a complete mess. Eli Manning was able to get in and out without much of a problem. He threw 2 TD passes and had around 170 yards passing and then got out of the game and watched David Carr handle the offense just fine. Ahmad Bradshaw had 110 rushing yards and Brandon Jacobs had 67 rushing yards. He doesn't seem to be the same player this year but I don't know what to make out of it. If they are getting yards with Bradshaw then they will use him more. The Giants don't have much to complain about as their defense was great again but they have played 3 easy games in a row and are 5-0 but now comes the hard part. They will travel to New Orleans to play the 4-0 Saints who have the best offense and will present a huge challenge to the Giants. The Giants just keep winning and are now in good position because if you just go 500 the rest of the way you will still be in good shape, they were very business like in winning these games they had to win and that is a good thing.

Recap of the Yanks/Twins Series

The New York Yankees swept the series and had strong starting pitching to set it up. The Yankees offense the last 2 games was shutdown at least for a good portion of the game but as we have known all year with this team they just keep fighting and keep coming at you and until the game is over they are never out of it, especially at home. A-rod was the MVP of the series even though there isn't one for the ALDS. I think Andy Pettitte actually pitched the best out of the 3 starters. CC and A.J. were good but can be even better. A.J. was a little too wild with 5 walks and 2 hit batters. Phil Hughes didn't have a great series out of the pen but we can see the formula is starter for 6 and then Joba-Phil-MO. I do think Joe Girardi was a little too quick to get the starter out and put the pen in but it worked and you can't complain too much. I hope he is going to let CC go a little further in game 1 on friday especially since he will be on 9 days rest. A.J. you do want to get out before the game gets out of hand and Andy probably could of stayed in a little longer but it wasn't a terrible move. The Yankees now have to think about using only 3 starters again as they can have CC go games 1, 4 and 7. He would only be on three days rest for game 4 but he is on 9 days rest for game 1 and normal rest for game seven if it went that far. I think this is the way they will go and use Chad Gaudin as long relief if they have too. I don't think you will see Damaso Marte in the second round but we will see. Joba does look better out of the pen and he can be trusted in a big spot and Dave Robertson has a lot of confidence now. The Twins just made too many mistakes and they were overmatched even though the games were pretty close except for game 1. The Twins made a lot of baserunning mistakes which is unusual but it could of been the pressure getting to them. The Yankees now can start preparing for the Angels and I am sure by Wed we will hear about the roster and any news on the rotation.

Yanks on to ALCS

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1 to move on to the ALCS and a date with the Anaheim Angels. The Angels always play the Yankees tough and this will be a great series but the Yankees proved towards the end of the year they can beat those guys. I don't want to talk about that just yet as we will have all week to look ahead. I do want to review this series also which I will do tomorrow. The bottom line is the Yankees starting pitching stepped up and I think they can be even better at least CC and AJ. Andy Pettitte pitched great tonight and Joba, Hughes and Mo did the job although it wasn't so easy. A-rod continued to hit getting a solo homerun and a walk. He ended up hitting just under 500 in the series with 2 homeruns and 6 rbi's. Derek Jeter proved once again why people love him and you don't realize how good he is unless you watch him all the time. He makes plays all the time that won't show up in the boxscore. Johnny Damon had a rough series offensively but can rest now and get rejuvenated. Jorge Posada had a good game with a homerun and a rbi single. The Yankees were partying well but they still say the right things with not being satisfied. I will have the review of the series tomorrow and a preview of the Angels later this week.

Yankees at Twins ALDS Game 3

The game is on at 7:07 on TBS, its a good thing they are playing indoors as temperatures outside will be in the 30's with snow showers. It is so good they will be playing outdoors starting next year isn't it? Here are the pregame notes and lineups via the Yankees media notes and Sam Borden/Chad Jennings of the Journal News. The Yankees are up 2-0 in the best-of-five series and are one win away from the ALCS. The Twins came into the postseason as the hottest team, but the Yankees have cooled them off in two different ways: With a gem from CC Sabathia in Game 1 and an 11-inning thriller in Game 2. Andy Pettitte is making his 36th postseason start tonight, which means the veteran lefty has basically pitched one full season in October during his career. His numbers? 14-9, 3.96 ERA. His regular-season averages? 17-10, 3.91 ERA. In other words, he’s one of the best at making the biggest games seem just like every other. Pettitte also owns the Twins – the last time he lost a game to Minnesota was April 30, 2001. Alex Rodriguez seems to have forgotten whatever it was that plagued him in previous Octobers, busting out for five RBI in the first two games of the series including his “Yankee Moment” in Game 2 when he crushed a two-run homer in the ninth inning to tie the game. A-Rod is 4-for-8 in the series. Playing in the Dome is supposed to be a big advantage for the Twins but the Yankees seem more at home there than Minny does. The Twins have lost seven straight home playoff games, four of which were to the Yankees during the 2003 and 2004 first rounds. Despite being up 2-0, the Yankees haven’t gotten much production from the vaunted lineup. Other than A-Rod and Derek Jeter, no Yankee regular is hitting over .300 in the series. Mark Teixiera and Jorge Posada have two hits in the ALDS; Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon all have just one. In case you hadn’t heard, former Yankee Carl Pavano is standing between the Yankees and the second round. Pavano occasionally played – I use the term loosely – for the Yankees from 2005-08, then signed with Cleveland this year and was traded to the Twins at the deadline. Assuming he doesn’t suffer a debilitating hangnail early, he could do some damage against the Yankees: In two starts against them this season, he allowed just four runs in 13 1/3 combined innings. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) Twins Lineup: Span(CF) Cabrera(SS) Mauer(C) Cuddyer(1B) Kubel(RF) Young(LF) Harris(3B) Morales(DH) Punto(2B)