Yankees vs Rangers preview

Tuesday night it was decided. The Yankees would be traveling to Texas, and the AL East champions season was over. After the Rangers lost two straight at home, and the Rays tied the series I though that it would be a Rays/Yanks match up in the ALCS, but the pitching of Cliff Lee proved me wrong. So starting tomorrow night the ALCS will start up in Texas for the first time ever. The Yankees have had their way with the Rangers in the past during the Postseason (1996,1998,1999) but can that was long ago, can the Rangers start a new trend? Here are the position by position break down of the clubs.

Catcher : Jorge Posada vs Bengie Molina

The battle of the aging catchers, the difference? Molina is much better defensively while Posada is the better hitter. Molina can still hit, and we saw that last season while he was with the Giants, but this season had a huge drop off. That said Molina had a nice series against the Rays, blasting a home run and even stealing a base. Posada also had a nice three game series against the Twins, my biggest concern this series with Jorge is will he be able to throw runners out? The Rangers have alot more speed then the Twins, and over the last few weeks of the season Posada only threw out one base runner in 26 attempts. That said it should be interesting to see if in game four of this series when A.J. Burnett pitches if Joe Girardi will ask for Posada or Francisco Cervelli to catch him.
Winner : Slight edge to Posada,because of his hitting, but defense will be key in this series for him.

First Base : Mark Teixeira vs Mitch Moreland

We have our first mismatch ! Moreland is a rookie who has been in just 47 games in his career. While Tex is a player who can hit 47 home runs in a season. Jorge Cantu is the other option at first for Texas, but that doesn't seem to be too frightening, although he has improved since his Rays days. Tex hit well in the ALDS, including a clutch home run in game one. The Yankees would love to continue to get production out of him, something they didn't get much of last postseason.
Winner: Mark Teixeira, c'mon was it that hard?

Second Base : Robinson Cano vs Ian Kinsler

This is close, if you had asked this a few seasons ago, the easy answer would be Kinsler. But after Cano had an MVP caliber season, the answer is no longer that easy. They both play great defense, and are much better then the average second baseman. Kinsler hit three home runs in the ALDS, and could be another weapon to the Rangers powerful line up since he is now healthy. Cano is already a valuable weapon, and should be be fazed about facing Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson.
Edge: Robinson Cano, can't deny a guy coming off an MVP type of year.

Shortstop : Derek Jeter vs Elvis Andrus

Well it would be easy to say that after the type of season Jeter had that Andrus is the better player, and I think that is correct in the long run. But Jeter impressed me in the three games against the Twins and late in September Jeter seemed to be righting himself. Andrus plays a better shortstop then Jeter, but can also hit, he may not be a player with much pop (6 career home runs in 293 games) but he can run. Against the Rays Andrus stole three bases, so it will be key for the Yankees to keep him off base.
Winner: Derek Jeter, its October a.k.a his month

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez vs Michael Young

A-Rod had three of his best seasons of his career in Texas, then asked to be traded, became a Yankee, was booed by the fans in the Bronx, then won a ring last season and it seems like now all is forgiven. Texas was also the place that A-Rod allegedly began to take performance enhancing supplements. Michael Young on the other hand, has remained a Ranger through out his career and during that time has spent time at each infield position. I consider Michael Young to be one of the most under rated players in baseball, even though he isn't the same player that he was a few seasons ago he always provides solid defense while putting up respectable offensive numbers. But with that said, he still isn't in the same class as A-Rod.
Winner: Alex Rodriguez, He may not have the same type of Postseason like he did last year , but hes still A-Rod.

Left Field : Brett Gardner vs Daniel Murphy

Josh Hamilton had been playing left, but I plan to list him as the center fielder. Until then Daniel Murphy will be out in left field for the Rangers. Murphy had a big hit against the Yankees earlier this season off Mariano, to win a game for the Rangers. Murphy is a solid player, but doesn't have much power. The same could be said for Brett Gardner, but Gardner is a game changer with his speed. If the Yankees are going to score runs off Lee and Wilson, they are going to have to get Gardner on base so he can run.

Winner : Brett Gardner, I like the versatility of playing all outfield spots and for his speed.

Center Field : Curtis Granderson vs Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton comes into the series struggling. After sitting out most of the last month of the season JHam looked rusty, and was swinging at pitches out of the zone. Granderson on the other hand was having a great three games against the Twins. So even while Granderson had a great series and swung the bat well the entire month of September, it is hard to go up against the likely AL MVP. Granderson will once again have his hands full with facing Lee and Wilson, both tough lefties. Hamilton will be a key out for the Yankees because if he starts to hit, look out.

Winner: Even an injured Hamilton, beats out a hot Granderson.

Right Field : Nick Swisher vs Nelson Cruz

This is one of the toughest match ups. Both play at the same level of defense, Cruz does have suprising speed for a large guy, and Swisher isn't too fast. Both have about the same power, Cruz may have more, while Swish hits for a higher average. Cruz was banged up most of the season, and Swisher has dealt with a knee injury over the last month of the season.
Winner: Even, too many similarities to choose a clear cut winner.

Designated Hitter : Lance Berkman/Marcus Thames vs Vlad Guerrero

Berkman had a big game two for the Yanks in the ALDS, while Thames added a homer into the mix in game three. But Vlad Guerrero has had a tremendous season, and shows no sign of slowing down come the postseason. Guerrero is a tough bat to get out because he has great plate coverage, he also has tremendous bat speed even for a guy who is getting up there in age, so you cant sneak a fastball by him. The best thing to do would be throw him breaking balls that are just off the plate, this way even if he does hit them, they shouldn't be leaving the yard.
Winner: Vladamir Guerrero

Bench:
Neither bench jumps out at you, the Yankees will have either Thames or Berkman to pinch hit. But neither can play the field or run so once they enter the game it really is just to hit. Ramiro Pena and Greg Golsen could come in for defense or steal a base if needed, especially Golsen. The other option off the bench would be Austin Kearns, who is a solid player. The Rangers counter with ex-Met Jeff Francoeur, who has some pop and a great arm  in the outfield. Julio Burbon is a threat to steal, although he doesn't have the best steal percentage, he is still very fast. Jorge Cantu can hit one out and Christian Guzman was having a decent season with the Nationals before being traded. Guzman does have a bit of speed left also.
Winner: Rangers just have more well rounded players on the bench compared to the Yankees, who have a player who can do just one thing well.

Starting Pitching:

Not long ago they were teammates.

Girardi announced that it would be Sabathia,Hughes,Pettitte and Burnett in that order. I am a big fan of that since Hughes has pitched great on the road,especially in Arlington these past few seasons. The first three have minor question marks, that may not even matter. With Sabathia it will be if he has too much rest and trys to over throw, Hughes still is young and his struggles late in the season and in the 2009 Postseason are still fresh in my mind. Pettitte will be making his fifth start off the injury, and will be against Cliff Lee in what should be a cool evening in the Bronx. The last thing the Yanks would need is for the groin to feel tight. The Yankees do catch a major break in only seeing Cliff Lee only twice in the series. Lee,who could be a future Yankee, has had great success against them and throws strikes. I would recommend that the Yankees don't attempt to wait him out, but swing at the first fastball or flat breaking pitch in the zone. C.J. Wilson did lead the AL in walks, so the Yankees should work the count on Wilson and try and get him out of the game quickly. Lewis and Hunter both were shaky in ALDS starts, especially Hunter. If the Yankees can rattle them, it would be a major benefit.

As for Burnett who I did not mention above, I do have alot of faith in him against the Rangers. This season he had a few decent outings, and will be going against Tommy Hunter who stunk against the Rays. If the Yankees can rattle Hunter at Yankee Stadium, and Burnett gives a decent five innings, it is a simple gain for the Yankees.
Winner: Yankees, especially since they wont see Lee three times

Bullpen:

The Rangers have alot of young arms, but they are all effective and can really dial it up. The Yankees pen has been solid through out the season, and Kerry Wood has been above expectations. Wood did struggle a bit in the series against the Twins, but his aggressive style is good against a aggressive Rangers team. The Rangers did rally twice against Rivera this season, but that was the regular season. Neftali Feliz is a great closer, who throws hard, but also can get wild. The Yankees did get a big come back win against Feliz in Arlington earlier this season.
Winner: Yankees, only cause of Mo

Prediction : Yankees win in six