Subway Series preview: Looking back and this weekends match ups.

Dave Mlicki beats the Yanks in the first
Subway Series game.

In 1997, the havoc began and 15 years later, the crosstown rivalry continues to grow. Although this season, the Mets are not expected to compete, they have done a fine job of proving the nay-sayers wrong. Both teams roll into the Bronx tonight on a hot streak. The Mets have won six of their last eight, and the Yankees come in riding a three game win streak after bashing the Orioles last night, before we look at this weekends match ups, lets look at the past Subway Series contests.

1997: Yankees take the series 2-1: Yesh! I forgot that they only played one series back then, this one took place at Yankee Stadium. Of course as we all know the great Dave Mlicki won the game the first night, but the Yankees would win the next two. Another strange thing about this series, they were Monday-Wednesday, so they were during the week, and the Wednesday one was a 1pm start.

1998: Yankees take the series 2-1: Once again they only played three games but this time they faced off at Shea Stadium. This is the year they moved the games to the weekends, and this would be the last of just one series.

I still have no clue how Matt Franco beat Mo.

1999: Split the series 3-3: I guess this is when Major League Baseball realized that by having six games, they were guaranteed to sell out each time and each team would get three games at home. This was the year of the famous Mariano Rivera- Matt Franco game in which the Mets pulled the upset on the mighty Yankees and beat the great Mo.

2000: Yankees win regular season 4-2, also win World Series 4-1: This is the year, it was no longer a rivalry for the fans as Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza would turn the rivalry up a notch. The Yankees would win the regular season set, including the first ever double header in which a game took place in each stadium. Aside from Clemens drilling Piazza in his melon, Doc Gooden would get some revenge beating the Mets during the double header. In the World Series, the Yankees would beat the Mets in a closer series then many remember, the Yankees won the series by just five runs and the Clemens-Piazza rivalry would heat up after the rocket man tossed a piece of Piazza's broken bat at the Mets catcher.

(Insert roid rage joke here)

2001: Yankees win series 4-2: The final time the Yankee dynasty team would beat up on the Mets, although the Mets would get revenge at Yankee Stadium beating Mariano Rivera again to pull off a 3-0 victory.

2002: Split the series 3-3: Robin Ventura would return to Shea Stadium after being traded by the Mets to the Yankees, Ventura would hit a go ahead home run against the Mets, helping the Yankees win the game. Also, I can remember that Mo Vaughn, had one of his best Mets moments when he hit a home run off the old Shea Stadium scoreboard, one of the longest home runs I ever saw. This was also the series that Shawn Estes, threw behind Clemens, talk about a few years too late.

2003: Yankees sweep the series 6-0: What can you say about this years series other then everything went right for the Yankees and everything went wrong for the Mets.

2004: Mets (finally) win the series 4-2: Of all the decent Mets teams who would expect the 2004 squad to win the series. They would lose 2 of 3 at Yankee Stadium, but swept the Yanks at Shea Stadium. I will always remember that the Yanks had just swept the Red Sox the series before, and Jeter dove into the stands, but couldn't beat the Mets, I guess that is why you can't predict baseball.

2005: Split the series 3-3: The Mets began to get better, and Dae Sung Koo had a career day against the Yanks, pitching well against them before hitting a double and scoring from second on a sac bunt. The Yanks would get some revenge the next day when they rallied back against  Roberto Hernandez to steal a victory.
 

2006: Split the series 3-3: I consider this year the rebirth of the rivalry since the Mets had the best team in the National League this season and the Yankees had the best in the American. The series began with a bang for Mets fans when David Wright won the first game of the series against Rivera again, but the Yanks would strike back the next day and beat the Mets 5-4, after getting four runs against Billy Wagner in the 9th. Also in the final, crazy game of the series the Yankees bashed the Mets 16-7. The game didnt start until 9:15pm, due to rain and Alex Rodriguez and Paul LoDuca had words after an A-Rod home run.

2007: Yet another split 3-3: The Yanks almost got swept at Shea Stadium, but Tyler Clippard had one of the best outings of his career, beating the Mets, to earn the back page title of "The Yankee Clippard". When the series made its way back to Yankee Stadium, the Mets won the first game thanks to Carlos Gomez robbing a home run, but the Yanks would win the next two to tie the series.

2008: Mets win the series 4-2: One of the worst years for the Yankees, as they lost the series and each game they loss was a blow out for the Mets. The highlight was the Yanks beat Pedro Martinez at Shea Stadium, bring back they "who's your daddy" chant for one night.

2009: Yankees win the series 5-1: The Yankees would sweep the series at Citi Field, and take 2 of 3 at Yankee Stadium, including a 15-0 victory for the bombers. But this year will always be remembered by a dropped pop up from Luis Castillo.

2010: Split the series 3-3: Sadly no dropped pop ups this year, as the clubs split the series at three games apiece. In an odd situation the Yankees and Mets had the same pitching match ups for both series, and each pitching match up was split 1-1, between the clubs.

This year the Yanks have the advantage heading into the first match up of the year, with the pitching match up favoring the Yanks in the Friday and Saturday games (Dickey vs Garcia and Capuano vs Burnett), while Sunday leans towards the Mets (Pelfrey vs Nova). Looking at the match ups between the position players the Yanks have the advantage at ever spot except shortstop (Reyes beats Jeter) and right field (Beltran over Swisher).

Yankees Link dump 5-18-2011

Hey we finally won!

Saw a few interesting links this morning  I should pass along....

In today's Daily News, Juan Gonzalez writes about the Yankees parking issue. While this is nothing new at all, and has been covered extensively on this site, it was nice to see some stats finally on the 2011 parking. I can't wait for the city to admit they messed up, they can than lower the prices of the lots and possibly knock some of them down and create some park land for the community around the stadium.


Also in The NY Daily News today was an article about how the Jorge Posada-Joe Girardi goes back deeper then just this season, but goes back to 2005 when Girardi was a coach. Apparently they fought over scouting reports and Jorge skipped the meetings, frustrating Girardi then the bench coach. Really interesting stuff, but after this weekend, Posada looks more and more like a diva. Also this "source" that was used makes me wonder if it was John Flaherty, since he would have been apart of those meetings.

Final article on a lighter note is from the NY Times about babies named after Yankees, of course Mickey Mantle is mentioned but naming a kid Jeter? That seems a bit obvious, either way I plan to name my first born Melky after the former Yankee great.

Time For a Change: Switching The Line Up



Swisher should convince Jeter to get a
mo hawk.

 Six in a row and it's time to panic in the Bronx. Among Yankees fans, I would say that I amongst the cooler heads and won't overreact to a losing streak like this in May. But looking at the losing streak and the games even before the streak the Yankees had not been that impressive. Sure they were out homering everyone, but doing little other wise. So here is my pitch for what Joe Girardi should do with the line up.

1. Derek Jeter - Yes he stays on top of the line up, in the ideal world I would hit Jeter lower, but you can't do that to the captain unless he comes to you and asks to bat lower, especially after this weekend long drama with Jorge Posada hitting 9th. Jeter looked like he was improving, until the Boston series when he turned back into ground ball Derek.

2. Nick Swisher- Before he hits second I think Swisher needs to sit a day, he has looked off and his comments the other day about trying too hard to hit home runs was alarming. Give him a day to clear his head, and then insert him back into the line up hitting after Jeter. Sure the possibility of the ground ball double play could be large, but Swisher was great in this spot last year. He is going to see a ton of fastballs and good pitches to hit, since most pitchers would rather face Swisher then Tex of A-Rod.

3. Robinson Cano- Here is the first big switch, Cano hits third. Robby has frustrated me this season with his lack of patients at the plate but has been the Yankees second best hitter all season long. Other than his slump this past week, Cano has been fairly consistent and deserves the chance to move up and hit third.



If they can play the infield together, they can hit
behind each other

 4. Alex Rodriguez- A-Rod was hitting .385 when he hurt his oblique, since then he has hit just .180 and has looked lost at the plate. Either way, Girardi loves A-Rod in this spot, and it is the best possible spot for him.

5. Mark Teixeira- The move is basically flip flopping Cano and Tex in the line up, Teixeira had a great April and avoided his annual slump, but that seems to have carried over to May. No doubt in my mind Tex will bounce back, but how soon?

6. Curtis Granderson- "The Grandyman can, oh the Grandyman can" that line has been frequently heard on WCBS 880 when John Sterling breaks it out for Granderson. In his second season with the Yankees Granderson has been everything and more from what they expected from him. He already has 14 home runs and has a realistic shot of hitting 40. If Curtis hits 6th, he would be able to collect a few more RBI's. Although I am often against switching guys in the batting order when they are doing well, I do believe that what ever Kevin Long did that night in Texas last August has helped and will continue to show throughout the season.

Granderson has hit many home runs with that bat.

7. Jorge Posada- I hope hitting 7th does not bruise his ego, because this is the best spot for Jorge. I think he is going to turn it around and hit better than the way he has so far, I mean it can't possibly get worse, right?

8. Russell Martin- The Canadian catcher has hit a bit of a slump come May hitting just .167, but he is still getting on base and has had some good at bats. I like hitting him 8th since behind him will be Brett Gardner, and Martin has some speed, so if both get on I wouldn't mind a double steal.

9. Brett Gardner- The way he has played this month has been under the radar, hitting .341 in May and getting on base at almost .100 more than his batting average. The alarming thing has been that Brett has gotten caught stealing more times than he has been safe (CS-6 SB-5). Gardner's hitting may lead to him moving back up to lead off, but I am a big fan of him hitting 9th at this time, creating a double lead off. The one issue I have with Gardner is his lack of base running skills. Sure he is fast, but some of the choices he makes on when to go or not shock me, he also waits way too long to run and the hitter up at the plate take hittable pitches because of this.

Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner Podcast 5-10-11

It's that time of the night when Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner is packaged up and sold for free as a podcast. Our guests for the night were former big leaguer Brian McRae chatted with us about his time in the bigs, along with what is going on now with the Royals since they invaded the Bronx this week.

But we weren't finished chatting it up with some pros as Tom Harding proved why he is the best at covering the Colorado Rockies for MLB.com, to talk everything Rockies even a mention of "the Giambino" Jason Giambi.

The banter between the guys consisted of who would you trade and who would you keep Jose Reyes or David Wright. Melky Cabrera and his return to the Bronx, Derek Jeter's hitting turning around, Milton Bradley and if he will ever see another MLB uniform and more Melky! Of course at the end we gave our POWS and WOWS (player of the week and worst of the week)

(Note the McRae Interview is 15 minutes into the podcast, and the Harding interview is an hour deep into the show)

Talkin Baseball:The Hot Corner podcast 4-26-2011

Last week Talkin Baseball:The Hot Corner was live but the recording was messed up so no podcast ever went up, sorry about that. But forget about the past because this weeks Talkin Baseball was jam packed (with Joe Szadok poking fun at David Otero and myself).
Some of the topics we discussed in this weeks episode were:

• Would you ever want to see your team get no hit,if you are at the game?
• The rift between Jeter and A-Rod, Phil Hughes injury and the Yanks out homering everyone
• The Mets bullpen, Chris Young and Ike Davis
• The new playoff possibility
• Our trip to Sonic
• We chatted with Patrick Reddington from Federalbaseball.com about the Nationals
• And to end it we did our weekly true/false segment and followed it with our players and worst of the week.

Enjoy, but tune in every Tuesday from 7-9pm on WCWP.org and WCWPSports.org for the live edition as we talk everything baseball.

Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner 4-12-11

Here is last nights Talkin Baseball episode. We had three callers, all three wanted to talk Yankees. But other then that we talked aboutb the Yankees bullpen, starting rotation issues, Derek Jeter and his slump on the bomber side of things. We also talked Manny Ramirez, Mets bullpen issues and much more so take a listen for yourself.

Note: Their is no Frank Catalonotto interview in this episode, but the interview can be heard here.



If you would like to listen live and call up and discuss anything feel free. We broadcast live every Tuesday night from 7-9pm EST on WCWPSports.org. so call us up 516-299-2790.

2011 Yankees starting line up predictions

We are less then 24 hours away from the start of the 2011 Yankees season. This off season seemed much longer then the past few, in the past the Yanks were coming off a championship and had added high priced free agents. This off season? Neither, the best off season addition was Rafael Soriano, as we know no championship parade and worst of all Andy Pettitte retired and left the Yanks rotation very thin.

But opening day is a time for optimism, along with predictions on how the Yanks will do. So with that here is a break down of my predictions for the 2011 Yanks starting line up and pitchers.

Russell Martin: Last season Martin played very poorly, but part of that was because Joe Torre treated him as if he was Scott Proctor and played him at third during his off days. But will a bad hip and a change from the NL West to the AL East help or hurt Martin?
Best case: .290/12 home runs/ 70 RBI, plays in over 125 games
Worst case: .240/6 /42  and has to go on the DL for any amount of time
My prediction: .276/10/60 Martin stays healthy, other then the occasionally day to day stuff.

Mark Teixeria: Will this be the season that Tex gets off to a decent start? Well everyone sure hopes, I think that Tex wont be as bad as he was the past two seasons, but he will hit around .250 in April, a respectable but still low for Mark. Last year Teixeria was never able to really get hot, and suffered so many nagging injuries, the key this season, would be to just stay healthy and get off to a decent start.
Best case: .300/38/139 Tex manages to get off to a nice start and never looks back, putting up MVP like stats.
Worst case: .250/30/100 85% of big leaguers would love to have this line, but for Tex it indicates a poor season and a slow start. Also fans begin to lose some patients with Tex in this scenario, they start to compare him to the old A-Rod and say hes "not clutch".
My prediction: .280/34/120 Mark gets off to an OK start, and then heats up and has a year similar to 2009.

Robinson Cano: I love to watch Cano play, and that starts with the fact that I have really gotten to see his game grow since 2005. The Yankees are really counting on Cano to have a season similar to 2010, but are the expectations too high?

Best case: .340/35/125 Cano turns into an absolute beast, hitting for a higher average and adds more power to his game

Worst case: .281/22/88 Cano starts to swing at balls over his head and in the dirt, and the famous "lazy" tag comes back out.

My prediction: .324/30/108 I will say right out that Robbie is my favorite  player, but it seems like everyone expects his to improve by alot, I think Cano will be consistent and have a slightly better season then last year.

Derek Jeter: Ah the captain, this is a tough one since not many shortstops have managed to put up a decent season over the age of 35, but Jeter is determined to change that.

Best case: .330/16/70 The man gets his 3,000 hit, and the fans forget about 2010.

Worst case: .250/9/60 Yankee fans watch Jeter declining right in front of their eyes, suddenly rumors are popping up that Jeter will be moving to the out field, since his defense has gotten worse.

My prediction: .296/10/66 Jeter improves from last season, but still hits into the famous double plays, still lacks range and short and we still hear the rumors. But its Derek Jeter! We look past the flaws and love him anyways.

Alex Rodriguez: uh oh its 2011, an odd year, you know what the means right? A big year for A-Rod, or atleast you would think so since he won the MVP in 2003,2005,and 2007 and shut up the critics in 2009 with a postseason for the ages. But does the trend continue?
Best case: .300/45/136 A-Rod stays healthy and has the big season that everyone expects
Worst case .268/25/110 A-Rod struggles with little injuries or is forced to spend a large chunk of time on the DL. His defense declines more and he still cant catch up on fastballs.
My prediction: .278/33/128 It might be an odd year, but that doesn't equal a huge season in my eyes. But the third basemen finds a way to stay healthy and still have a very very good season.

Nick Swisher: Every ones favorite goof ball had his best all around season last year, but was it a mirage or is he for real.

Best case: .300/30/100 Swish still improves, and suddenly a big pay day will be awaiting him.
Worst case: .255/24/73 Last season was based off luck, and the old Swisher comes back.
My prediction: .284/30/93 It was a quiet spring for Swisher, but don't expect him to be so quiet with the bat this season, I expect alot of the same from Swisher, including an increase in RBI's since he will be batting behind Cano.

Curtis Granderson: It was the tale of two seasons for the Grandy man. The first half: awful. The second: amazing. What half held the real Granderson?
Best case: .291/30/90 Kevin Long shows why he is the best at what he does and suddenly the Granderson trade looks like a steal.

Worst case: .244/16/60 Granderson cant hit lefties and is benched while Austin Jackson has a good season with the Tigers.

My prediction: .273/26/78 Granderson will struggle at times, but he is more consistent and has a nice season.

Brett Gardner: Back in 2008 I hated Gardner, and begged for the Yankees to either send him down or just keep his around as a pinch runner. Good thing I'm not a scout, because Gardner has turned into a great all around player.
Best case: .300/10/52 Brett continues to play great defense, and steals alot.
Worst case: .260/4/36 Gardner battles injuries, and struggles. But still steals alot.
My prediction: .283/8/49 Gardy has another impressive season, and steals...alot.

Jorge Posada: We saw the first core four member retire this past winter, could this be the final season of Posada in pinstripes?
Best case: .285/25/80 Posada is healthy, happy and hitting. Girardi even tosses him a bone and lets him catch every now and then.
Worst case: .240/15/48 Posada battles injuries and has a tough time ajusting to DHing full time. To make things worse he complains about it to the media, causing an issue.
My prediction: .255/22/73 Posada will still hit as long as hes healthy, and aside from the occasional grumble he takes DHing well and the Yanks welcome him back in 2012.

New York baseball preview

Had to write this up for my school news paper, sure its not as in depth as most of the stuff, but writing for a general audience can be tough. Anyways enjoy....


There is something about baseball’s opening day that is not like anything else. It’s a tradition steep in history, it’s a sign that warmer and better days are coming and on the first day of the season everyone is even with a record of 0-0.



It has been a long off season but Americas past time kicks into full gear on Thursday March 31st when six games will be played to start of 2011. One of the teams that will be on action on the 31st will be the New York Yankees. It has been a long winter for Yankee fans since Alex Rodriguez struck out to end game 6 of the American League Championship Series, last October.

It began with missing out on top free agent Cliff Lee, the Yankees had made a major mistake of putting all their eggs in one basket, waiting for Lee while other free agent were gobbled up by other teams. Eventually Lee spurned the Yankees and the Rangers, the team seem as a major threat to the Yanks chance to sign Lee, to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. This left the bombers searching for pitching, they would go and sign a bunch of low key free agent pitchers, many coming off bad seasons or injury prone ones.

But just when things couldn’t get any worse for the Yankees, it did. Andy Pettite, the third most winning pitcher in the franchise’s history, opted to retire instead of coming back for one more season, leaving the Yankees rotation in shambles. Pettitte, said at the time that he rather stay home with his family, then try and push himself through one more season, a reason that in the eyes of many fans is completely expectable.

Without Pettitte and Lee, a huge void was left in the rotation, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman tried his best to fix the hole, by building a strong bullpen, grabbing all star closer Rafael Soriano, to be the set up man to Mariano Rivera. But the starting rotation is the major issue. C.C. Sabathia is as consistent as any pitcher in the majors, but he is coming off knee surgery and has thrown over 230 innings each of the past four seasons. One injury to Sabathia, and the Yankees season is virtually over. A.J. Burnett is set to be the number two starter, but he is as inconsistent as they come. Last year Burnett would have stretches during the season were he looked as dominant as any other pitcher in baseball, and then he had stretches were he looked as if he belonged in the minor leagues. Phil Hughes had a great season in 2010, winning 18 games, but his second half was sub-par having an ERA above five and he gave up too many home runs. This season Hughes is somewhat of a question mark because in his fine 2010 season, he increased his innings pitched by 90 innings, and often young pitchers that increase their work load by that much have a tendency to get hurt. The fourth and five starting jobs were won by Freddy Garcia and Ivan Nova. Both serviceable pitchers, but concerns can be raised that Nova is young and inexperienced, and struggled when the opposing team’s line up faced him again last season. Garcia is known for being a work horse, eating a lot of inning, but has lost a lot of velocity over the years.

The Yankees line up didn’t change at all, they will still be one of the top offense clubs in the majors, even with an older Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, both of whom I expect to bounce back. A major concern for the Bronx bombers is that the teams around them got stronger, especially the Boston Red Sox. The BoSox fell short of the postseason in 2010 but don’t expect similar results in 2011. They went out and traded for Adrian Gonzalez, one of the best offensive players in the game. They also spent a lot of money to improve the bullpen and pick up superstar left fielder Carl Crawford. Combine the fact that last season the Red Sox were without Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka for a large part of last season, this year’s Red Sox team looks to be the favorites in the American League East.

The Mets last season missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season; the Mets faithful shouldn’t get too excited for 2011 since it looks like the Mets will make it five straight years without a postseason berth.

Ace pitcher Johan Santana is expected to miss the start of the season, and is out until at least after the all star break. That leaves Mike Pelfrey and R.A. Dickey as the top pitchers on the staff, both are very good, but won’t be able to fill the void left by Santana. After Dickey and Pelfrey the rotation begins to get choppy, Jon Neise had a nice season last year, but is a young pitcher, so expect a lot of ups and downs. Chris Young and Chris Capuano are both respectable pitchers when they are healthy, especially Young, who was a CY Young candidate just a few seasons ago. But neither pitcher has proven that they can stay healthy, and if they get hurt the Mets don’t have much depth behind them.

The Mets lineup looks good on paper, but once again injuries are a major issue. Carlos Beltran hasn’t played a full season since 2008, and has already suffered injuries to both knees in spring training. Jason Bay looks to return after a disappointing season, Bay was struggling before being sidelined for the season in late July. Bay is expected to rebound, but Mets fans should realize that Bay will not be the same player he was in 2009 with the Red Sox, because he showed in 2010 that Citi Field zapped him of some of his power. Jose Reyes might not even finish the season out with the Mets. A free agent after this season, Reyes should expect a big pay rise if he stays healthy and has a productive season. With the financial issues that the Mets have, don’t expect Reyes to be back next season, instead the Mets may look to trade Reyes for prospects and players that can help in the future.

At least Met fans can look forward to an exciting season with new manager Terry Collins, a no nonsense type of guy. Also throw in the fact that Luis Castillo won’t be dropping pop ups and Oliver Perez won’t be on the Citi Field mound, this upcoming season is already to jump for joy.

The season may be just starting up, but some predictions for the division winners.

In the AL East, he Red Sox outlasts the Yankees, but the bombers make it into the playoffs, winning the wild card. The Rays will stick around for a while but they just don’t have the pitching, and eventually fall out of the race.

The central will be a tough division Minnesota Twins hold off the Chicago White Sox, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau have bounce back seasons, but the Twins still lose in the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers could also be a team that surprises a lot of people, and make a push to knock the Twins off as the best team.

In the west, the Oakland Athletics surprise everyone and win the division. They have a young pitching staff and a stacked bullpen. With the “Money Ball” movie coming out this season, based on the A’s franchise, expect a fairytale finish for the Athletics.

In the National League, expect a down to the wire fight for the NL East between the Braves and the Phillies. While the Phillies are the popular choice especially with their starting rotation, the Braves are a well rounded young team. The big question mark remains if Chase Utley will return for the Phillies and will he stay healthy.

Once St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright went down for the season with an arm injury, the Milwaukee Brewers became the team to beat in the central division. With three big starters in Zach Grienke, Shaun Marcum and Yovani Gallardo the Brewers have the best rotation in the central, and have a line up full of power. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Brewers deep in October.

The San Francisco Giants shocked the baseball world, when they won the World Series, but in 2011 expect the Colorado Rockies to shock the Giants and win the NL West. But don’t count the Giants out completely as they still make it into the playoffs thanks to their pitching as the wild card team.

The winter doldrums are over!

Today Yankee pitchers and catchers report to spring training, symbolizing that winter is over and the warm weather aint far away.

                    So while some players are excited to start a new season

                                                         Others arent

Yankees offseason update: Jeter, Pettitte, Cliff Lee & Cano in the MVP ballot

After a rather quiet start to the off season today the Yankees managed to grab a few headlines today. Lets run through a few of the latest updates.

• At first reports surfaced that the Yankees were going to offer Kerry Wood and Javier Vazquez arbitration. But after further reports, it looks as if the Yanks are going to just offer it to Javy, with the understanding that Vazquez would deny it, that way the Yanks could get a draft pick.
• Reports surfaced a few weeks ago that Andy Pettitte was leaning towards retirement, but it now looks as if he is leaning towards coming back for one final season with the bombers. This would be great news for the Yanks if they could lock up Andy, then they would just need one more pitcher Cliff Lee to finish off the rotation.
• It looked as if the pursuit for Cliff Lee had finally got under way with rumors that the Yanks had offered 6 years $140 million. But after reports from the NY Daily News, no such offer has been made yet. That would have been alot of money for the first known offer, for a guy that is going to be 32 and has only been an elite pitcher since 2008. For the whole scoop check out MLB Trade Rumors.

• The discussions between Derek Jeter and the Yanks have gotten off to a rocky start, and even has Brian Cashman questioning if Jeter wants to remain in the Bronx. I know I had never expected the negotiations to go like this, but both sides are wrong. The Yankees shouldn't be playing such hardball with a player that has helped elevate the franchise over the last 15 years. They should look at all the ways hes helped bolster the franchise name, and how much more he will in the future as an ambassador of the Yankees and of the game of baseball. Jeter is the face of the franchise and will be for the rest of his life. On the other hand Jeter also should do the right thing and put his ego aside and just sign a reduced deal. It would look better on him, and he would still have the chance to make millions on endorsements.
• Robbie Cano finished third in the AL MVP voting. I understand that he may not have been first but Miguel Cabrera even finished before him. Its called Most Valuable Player for a reason, how much value does Miguel Cabrera have for a team that wasn't close to making the playoffs? Cano carried the Yanks at times during the season, but I've said it all along the real MVP for the Yankees should be CC Sabathia.

Top 10 memories of the 2010 Yankees season

10. Curtis Granderson beats Papelbon and the Red Sox.

It was just the third game of the season, but Curtis Granderson lead off the top of the 10th inning against Jonathan Papelbon, with the score tied. Granderson launched a home run into the right field seats, his second home run of the series. The Yankees would win the game 3-1

9. CC Sabathia win 20

In his second season in pinstripes, and 10th in the majors CC Sabathia finally won 20 games in a season. It is still debatable if he should win the Cy Young award, but their is no question that he was the most important piece to the Yankees this season.

8. Derek Jeter passes Babe Ruth on the all time hits list.

It wont belong before Jeter hits 3,000 but on a Sunday night at home against Boston Jeter got a base hit to pass Babe Ruth. Possibly appropriate since the old stadium was called the house that Ruth built, the current stadium could be called the house that Jeter built.

7. The walk off wins

Marcus Thames started the pie trend with a walk off homer against Papelbon in May. Thames would get another big hit, this time on July 4th vs the Blue Jays. Swisher would also get a pair of walk offs against the Rays in the first game after Bob Sheppard and the Boss passed, and a walk off homer against the Baltimore Orioles in September. The last walk off was against the Red Sox, this time it was literally a walk off. Juan Miranda walked to bring home the game winning run, oddly he did not get a pie.


6. Yankees turn first triple play since 1968

It had been over 40 years, but the Yankees finally turned a triple play. On an April day game in Oakland, Kurt Suzuki hit a hard ground ball right to A-Rod who threw on to Cano for the second out, and threw on to Nick Johnson for the third out. Sadly what I remember best is Ken Singleton botching the call big time.

5. The Yankees clinch a playoff birth

It had been a September from hell for Joe Girardi and the Yankees, but on this night in Toronto it was reason to celebrate. The Yankees still had their eye on winning the AL East but would fall short and win the Wild Card.

4. A-Rod and Thames blast past the BoSox.

It was a sloppy game for both teams, but the Red Sox would take the lead late in the game. They would turn to closer Jonathan Papelbon to close out the win, but Alex Rodriguez  hit a monster home run to tie the game, and a few batters later Marcus Thames hit one into the seats to win the Yankees the game.

3. Yankees beat Texas with comeback win in game one

The Yankees were down 5-1 in the eighth but that didn't stop them from hustling. Brett Gardner started it off with a hustle base hit, that he just beat out. After that the Yankees began to take pitches and got a few hits. Next thing you knew they were leading the Rangers 6-5. After the game Michael Kay went so far as to claim that because of this win the series was over (Way to jinx it, big head!) cause of this rally.

2.Yanks steam roll the Twins

The Yankees came out struggling in game one, but after a few innings went back to the same old Yankees, getting the clutch hits. After game two when Andy Pettitte shut down the Twins, Phil Hughes would start game three at home. The crowd was loud and ready to go, just like the bombers who beat the Twins easily.

1. The ring ceremony




Who could deny that although this was early in the season, it was still the best part of the season. The excitement of seeing the rings, and another opening day at Yankee Stadium. It wasn't anyone on the 2010 Yankees that stole the show, it was 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui who was announced and embraced by his 2010 teammates. The Yankees would beat the Angels 7-5 behind solid pitching from Andy Pettitte and Mo shutting the door.

Honorable Mention: Tex and A-Rod's three home run games, Jorge Posada collects 1000 RBI, Hope Week, Jeter's inside the park home run.

**Editors note : These were on the field moments, that is why the passing of George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard are not on the list.

Yankee Stadium Experience : Yanks vs Rangers ALCS Game 3

I had gotten these tickets in the partial plan holders pre-sale, at the time it would have been game one of the series, but once the Yankees lost the AL East it became game three. Andy Pettitte would be facing Cliff Lee in a classic pitching, the starters lived up to expectations but the bullpen let it all slip away. More on that in a bit.

But lets start out by saying that earlier in the week I had been looking on google for shortcuts to get to the 161st street garage. I finally though I found a short cut, and it may have been but we passed the exit and took a quick tour of the Bronx. After that we finally made it to the parking garage, practically three hours early and it was already crowded, even with the parking cost $40.

It was my first playoff game since the 2003 ALCS game two, but unlike back then when they were very strict with security they hardly looked in my bag prior to game three. It was strange to see the teams taking batting practice in the dark, but the stadium look beautiful and there was a buzz around the park.

I wandered out to the bleachers and realized that the TBS crew were doing the pre-game show from the bleachers (section 239 to be exact). At one point Dennis Eckersley was standing five feet away and nobody approached him. That cant be said of David Wells who was getting cheers from the fans that began to surround the small make shift studio.

The temperature was really starting to drop, and the October feel became stronger as game time was becoming closer. Once the Rangers finished up there portion of batting practice, I headed towards the upper deck to my seats, but I could see that on field level the Lobel's line stretched for at least three or four sections, totally insane.

The crowd wasn't even in its seats, when player introductions began. Of course Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte got the largest ovations, but Robinson Cano also got a large ovation from the crowd. The introductions never get old, but my favorite intros would have to be for Opening Day and the World Series. Tino Martinez threw out the first pitch to another loud ovation and just like that baseball was set to be under way.

The Yankees did hold a nice moment of silence for Freddy Sez, and showed him on the video screen. The crowd began to chant "Freddy ! Freddy !"

Prior to the game I predicted that the Yankees would win the game 3-2, I was correct about the Rangers having two for most of the night, but the final score was no where near my prediction. Andy Pettitte looked locked in the first inning, until he gave up a hit to Michael Young. The next batter was Josh Hamiltion, and he took a pitch and hit a Yankee Stadium home run, right over the right field fence. Just like that the air was sucked out of the crowd and the Yankees were down 2-0.

Cliff Lee came out and shut down the Yankees the entire night, I like that the Yankees were making him throw some pitches and fouled off a lot of tough pitches but the result was always the same, Lee was just too unhittable. The Yankees didn't have a hit for the longest time, and had only one chance all night to score. That was when Brett Gardner got a hit with no outs, stole second and was left stranded at third.

Much has been made about the crowd at the new Yankee Stadium, not being as loud. But on this night the fans had nothing to get excited about. The few times that the fans were into the game Cliff Lee sat them down, along with the Yankees. The worst part was that when the Yankees went down in the bottom of the eighth, and with the score at 2-0 some fans began to leave. Maybe those fans had the right idea since the Yankees would give up six more runs to turn the game into a laughter.

Auxilary Press Box in sections 406 and 407.

The move not to bring Mariano Rivera in the ninth, befuddled me. It was just a 2-0 game and  Cliff Lee was up to 118 pitches, so the Rangers would be going to closer Neftali Feliz. The Yankees had impressive at bats against Feliz in game two and had come back against him earlier in the season. But instead of using Mo, Girardi went to Boone Logan and David Robertson who got hit hard. The night ended with Sergio Mitre on the mound, never a good sign. Once the inning was over it was 8-0 Texas and many fans had departed.

The Yanks will have to hope from a good start from AJ Burnett tonight, or else they put themselves in a tough spot. I still have alot of faith in Burnett, but the Rangers have out played the Yankees in every one of these games, except for one inning and that was in game one when the Yankees came from behind.

Since last week I was unable to buy tickets to any of the World Series games, this looks to be my final trip to Yankee Stadium in 2010. Thank you for reading about my Yankee Stadium experiences, this season but make sure to keep reading about other Yankee related posts. Until 2011, as Michael Kay would say "see ya!"

Who will be left standing up 2-1 after game three ?

It will be Andy Pettitte vs Cliff Lee in game three at Yankee Stadium, Monday night. After Phil Hughes, got rocked in game two this has become a huge game, especially if A.J Burnett is going to be on the mound game four.  During the game I was receiving texts from friends who were saying that after the game two loss the series was over, and the Yankees were doomed. The negativity didn't end from friends, on Twitter  you would have though the Yankees had just been eliminated. But don't join in the negativity party ! Here are some reasons to feel good about the Yankees and games three and four.

• Andy Pettitte will be on the mound at Yankee Stadium. Pettitte has the most Postseason victories in MLB history, and has always showed up for the big game. The last time that Pettitte lost a game in the Postseason was in 2005 with the Astros. The last time he lost a game as a Yankee was 2003, during the World Series, when he lost game 6 against Josh Beckett.
• Cliff Lee has had his way with the Yankees this season, along with the 2009 World Series, but he is human. The Yankees hit him well in game 5 of last years World Series, and earlier this year they got to him in Texas and handed him a loss.
• Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson, both lefty batters have hit Lee well in the past. Gardner in limited at bats has hit .375, while Granderson has hit .286 with a home run in 42 at bats.
• Derek Jeter is hitting .385 against Lee, and Nick Swisher has also had success hitting .286 with two home runs.

• The Yankees will be playing at home were they had swept the Rangers this season. In September when the Yankees were battling to win the east, rumors were floating that the Rangers had no interest in playing in Yankee Stadium. Sure Yankee Stadium is not the same as it was during the old days, but to a young inexperienced team playing in front of a large crowd it could be unnerving.
• Similar to the last Point, Tommy Hunter is set to start game four. In the ALDS he struggled against the Rays. Against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, on national TV could be an issue for the young pitcher.
• The Yankees have been saying that Burnett will get the start for game four, and although some fans and media have been against the idea, it could work in the Yanks favor. Burnett this season against Texas in three starts had an ERA of 2.50, while striking out 17 batters and holding the team to a .232 average. Burnett can be wild but the Rangers are free swingers, and Burnett pitched well in last years postseason at home. Plus it would be only one start in the series for Burnett. The other option is CC Sabathia, who has an ERA close to five over his last five starts. If they used CC that would mean moving up Hughes start, it would be the first time he would have ever thrown on three days rest, along with Pettitte who is still coming off an injury and is 38 years old.

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

2010 ALDS review : Yankees over Twins in 3

Last night the Yankees finished off the Twins, and are one more step closer towards the goal of as always, winning the World Series. But the Yankees will need to continue to play the way they did against the Twins, since they will have a tough match up in either the Rays or Rangers. But before we move on to the next series, lets review the last one.


The Good

• Curtis Granderson had a nice three games going 5-11 (.455) while driving in three runs. Granderson had a clutch triple in game one and seemed to be in the middle of a few rallies.
• He only hit .286 but Derek Jeter, had good at bats and hit the ball hard a few times, just right at the fielders.
• Lance Berkman was irrationally disliked by Yankee fans because he got off to a slow start but in game 2, had a pair of clutch hits.
• The hitting in general was great, it was a team effort all around, and all players contributed. Only one batter hit below .273, and that was Brett Gardner (.200)
• What happened to those question marks behind CC Sabathia ? Andy and Hughes came up big for the Yankees. Hughes was lights out in game three, pitching seven shut out innings , while Pettitte gave seven strong innings of two run ball in game two.
• Mariano Rivera is just so good, doesn't matter that he struggled in September.

The Bad

• It is hard to find issues when the Yankees just outplayed the Twins, but their excellent play could come back to burn them. The Yankees now have to wait six days between games, of course rest is always a plus, and the Yanks can set the rotation, but they were playing great baseball and never want to see the momentum broken up.
• CC struggled on a few extra days rest, of course I have the most faith in Sabathia , but he will have to wait an awful long time again before his next start.
• Kerry Wood looked shaky in the bullpen. His command is always an issue, but he did give up a few hits. The only thing I was upset about in game three was that Girardi brought him into a 6-1 game, and then Wood struggled. The last thing they want to do is hurt his confidence after he was so good.
• Joba Chamberlain didn't pitch in a single game,and I cant even remember him warming up once. David Robertson only pitched .2 innings.

Yankees sweep the Twins away, move on to ALCS

After winning the first two games of the series on the road the Yankees came home to a loud crowd Saturday night and finished off the Twins.

Much was made about the question marks in the Yankees rotation following CC Sabathia. Well ironically, Sabathia struggled in his first start, but was still able to pitch well enough to earn himself a victory, but Pettitte and Hughes out pitched him.

The Yanks bats contributed, in all three victories. Derek Jeter looked to be back to old October form, while Curtis Granderson had a nice series in his Yankees playoff debut.

The Yankees will now have to wait six days until they play again Friday night, when they will be the visiting team.
Make sure you check back tomorrow as the ALDS report card will be released to wrap up the series. Until then just eight more victories until the Yankees accomplish the mission for title 28.

Yankees vs Twins : 2010 ALDS Preview

The weather has changed in New York, just like the calender and it definitely feels like October. Unlike last season when the Yankees steam rolled into the playoffs, this year has been a different story. The Yankees slide down the stretch with a record of 13-17 in September and the three game series against the Red Sox in October. If the Yanks continue to play like they did the last month of the season, they could be quickly done. So lets take a look at the series for the Yankees by a position by position break down against the Twins.

Catcher : Joe Mauer vs Jorge Posada

Both catchers had "down" seasons, but are by far still part of the elite catching group. Mauer struggled to find his power stroke in Target field, and saw his home run total drop by 19. Mauer did however still hit for an .327 average, but most of his stats were the lowest since his 2007 season. The bigger concern for the Twins and their fans is the fact that Mauer had hurt his knee earlier in the month,but has caught a game since and says that it is fine. Mauer may have not had  a similar season to last year, but Mauer is still one of the best catchers in the game both offensively and defensively.

Jorge Posada had a rough season, the 39 year old catcher had one of his worst seasons of his career. Sure Posada can still hit, but hes always banged up behind the plate, and may be one of the slowest runners in all of baseball. His defense has really declined over the past few seasons and suddenly runners have run all over him resulting in just a 15% (13-72)caught stealing rate.

Winner : Joe Mauer,  best catcher in baseball , even in a "down" year. Posada gets lucky this series that the Twins only have one player (Denard Span) that had double digit steals.

First Base : Michael Cuddyer vs Mark Teixeira

A common theme among these Twins players is a decline in production from last season to this year. The biggest reason is because of the large, out door Target field. Cuddyer saw a large decline in production this year, after a career year in 2009. Cuddyer will be playing first this series, for the injured Justin Morneau but normally plays right field. Cuddyer is an OK defender but nothing special.

Mark Teixeira struggled early in the season but really turned it on right before the break. Tex's final numbers look good, and that's with the early season slump. Tex is banged up a bit with a hand and toe injury and last year had a rough postseason. Teixeira is still one of the best defensive first basemen in all of baseball, and saves the other Yankee infielders from errors.

Winner: Mark Teixeira. Cuddyer is a good player, but Tex is an elite player, even if hes not 100%

Second base : Orlando Hudson vs Robinson Cano

Orland Hudson is one of the best defensive second basemen in the league, but his offensive production has declined over the past few seasons. Last season when Hudson was with the Dodgers, Joe Torre benched him during the postseason.

What can you say bad about Robinson Cano this year? Going into the season, many questioned if Cano would be able to hit fifth behind A-Rod. Well know we know that Cano can not only hit fifth but also third or fourth if needed. Cano, like Hudson is a great defender, and at times i feel his defense has gone under the radar.
Winner: Robinson Cano. He has had an MVP caliber season, not many second basemen are in the same category as Robbie.

Shortstop: J.J Hardy vs Derek Jeter
J.J Hardy was brought over in a trade with the Brewers for Carlos Gomez over the off season. Hardy is an above average fielder, but doesn't bring much else. Hes been a below average hitter the past few seasons, and his power numbers have declined each year. Hardy is also a free swinger, who doesn't draw many walks.

Derek Jeter may have had a down year but when the calender turns to October, Jeter is known to turn it up a notch. Jeter has hit .321 against lefties this season, a good sign for the Yankees who will face two lefties in the first three games.

Winner: Derek Jeter. We could create a whole highlight real with clutch moments in Jeter's career,he isn't called Mr. November for no reason.

Third base : Danny Valencia vs Alex Rodriguez

Valencia came up in June and got off to a hot start, then cooled off a little and had a nice September (5HR, 17RBI). So the rookie can hit, but will he get frustrated and stumble in the postseason under the pressure? Valencia has hit .374 against lefties this season in just 99 at bats.

Its is funny to think back to when A-Rod was once called a choker and fans wanted him out of the big apple. Heck if this was 2006 some fans may have even said they would rather have Valencia on their team. But last year A-Rod changed his image in many Yankees fans minds with a big postseason. I expect much of the same from Rodriguez this year, and they are going to need it if Tex and Cano struggle.

Winner: Alex Rodriguez. C'mon we are talking about comparing the future home run king to a rookie.

Left field: Delmon Young vs Brett Gardner

For years Delmon Young was expected to have a break out season, well 2010 was that year. Young will be hitting in the middle of the Twins line up, so he will have plenty of protection. The key is for the Yankees to allow Young to get himself out, Young is a free swinger who doesn't walk often (28 BB).

Brett Gardner is a fan favorite amongst Yankees fans, and its understandable. Gardner hustles all the time, and is never afraid to lay out for a ball. Gardner could be one of the fastest players in the league, and should be a great challenge against Joe Mauer.

Winner: Delmon Young. These players are as opposite as black and white, but after the year Young just had it's hard to pick against him.

Centerfield: Denard Span vs Curtis Granderson

Span is a pesky slap hitter, that can steal. It just seems like Span is always is the middle of a Twins rally, and could be a pesky player for the Yankees to get out. Span is hard to double up and doesn't strike out often. Span can play all outfield positions, and is a great defender.

Granderson came up with big hits all season (In April against Papelbon and in June vs Arizona) but in the last few weeks of the season Granderson really turned it on. His defense is suspect at times, and he has been known to take weird routes to the ball but is never afraid to dive for a ball and has an decent arm. This year Granderson hasn't stolen as many bases as in the past, but still has great speed. Nobody can replace Hideki Matsui, and the postseason he had last year but if I had to choose a Yankee to have a big playoff run I would choose Granderson.
Winner: Curtis Granderson. Both players are fast, but after that the comparisons end. Granderson will have his hands full with two lefties in the first three games.

Rightfield : Jason Kubel vs Nick Swisher

Kubel is known for his hitting, and even with larger park this year it still didn't stop him. He may not play the best defense, but his bat will make up for it. Kubel may be able to hit but this season his biggest offensive weakness has been facing lefties (.225 BA), so expect to see Boone Logan late in the game.

Will Swisher's knee be alright? Because Swish plays a large role in extending the line up, and with him not at full health it makes for a weaker Yankees line up. Swisher is an alright defender, who gives it his all, again they need his knee to hold up or else Greg Golsen or Austin Kearns will be getting some playing time.
Winner: Even. Its close because of Swisher's injury and the fact he struggled last postseason. If I was forced to make a decisions I would go with Swish.

Designated Hitter: Jim Thome vs Marcus Thames/ Lance Berkman

Thome was signed to be a role player and occasionally start in Minnesota, they never expected him to become an MVP candidate. Once Morneau went out Thome stepped up and has gotten so many clutch hits for the Twins, especially down the stretch. Thome has the experience of being in the Postseason, so he wont be frightened by the bright lights, but he will face the challenge of facing two tough lefties in games one and two.

Marcus Thames also was never expected to produce the way he has this season. When he was signed they wanted him to step in against Lefties and he has done great in that role, but Thames can also hit right handers  and actually has more home runs in less at bats against right handers. The down fall of Thames is if the game is late, expect to see a pinch runner, and for no reason should he ever step foot in the outfield.

When the Yankees got Lance Berkman, I felt it was a great pick up. But Berkman has not hit like he was suppose to, even with a hot streak in late September Berkman hit only .255.

Winner: Jim Thome. Even if the Yankees platoon is suppose to hit the opposing pitchers well, Thome carried this Twins club down the stretch, hard to argue against that.

Bench

Both bench's aren't that impressive but the Yankees will have either Thames or Berkman on the bench along with Austin Kearns, all players that could start on other MLB clubs. The Yankees also will have Ramiro Pena on the bench for defense, but he can steal a bag. Bringing Greg Golsen as a pinch runner is a good move, could be like Dave Roberts in 2004.

The Twins bench is loaded with young inexperienced players. Alexi Casilla can back up all the infield spots, and could be a threat to run late in the game. Back up catcher Drew Butera has thrown out 43% of runner attempting to steal and is great behind the plate. Jason Repko is a good defensive out fielder off the bench, he can hit a bit and steal a base if needed.

Winner: Yankees bench. Not the greatest bench, but well rounded.

Starting Pitchers

The Twins will throw Francisco Liriano in game one. Liriano had a great season, but faultered in his last few starts of the season. In game one CC Sabathia will be up against Liriano, Sabathia was key to the Yanks postseason run last year. CC has been a CY Young candidate all year, and against a lefty heavy Twins line up should be at his best.

In game two the Twins will throw Carl Pavano, the guy who once pitched for the bombers and never earned his paycheck. Pavano has been dominate against the Yankees over his career and will be at home in Target Field. Andy Pettitte is the key to this series if you ask me. Pettitte has had one great start, one bad start and one OK start since coming back from the DL. If the Yankees are going to make a run deep into October, they will need an effective Pettitte.

Game three will be a wild one in the Bronx. Phil Hughes will get the ball at home, a place where he has struggled this season and given up alot of home runs. Opposing him will be Brian Duensing, who was 10-3 with an ERA under three. But Duensing is a young pitcher and could be rattled by coming into Yankee Stadium for a rowdy Saturday night crowd. If the series is tied at one, this would be a huge game.

Winner: Twins. Both teams will be going with just three pitchers, so if the game goes the distance of five, expect to see the game one and two starters again. That should be interesting since Pettitte is coming off an injury and last threw on three days rest for game six of the 2009 World Series.

Bullpen

The Twins loaded up on closers this year after Joe Nathan went down with an injury. They had planned to use Jon Rauch as their closer, but then traded for Matt Capps. Both players are having great years. Then the Angels released Brian Fuentes and the Twins added him to their roster, so they have three players that could be closing elsewhere. Aside from those players they still have Jesse Crain who is always a work horse out of the pen and also Matt Guerrier who has held batters to a .219 BAA.

The Yankees bullpen has also been a bright spot this season. Mariano Rivera had a great year until September, but Mo is still Mo and should be great come October. Kerry Wood may have been the best deadline deal that Cashman has ever made, but walks too many batters, I wouldn't be surprised if he blew up in a big spot. Joba, Logan and Robertson all have pitched well in the second half of the season.
Winner: Twins. The Yankees have a good bullpen, but the Twins have better relievers and have more depth.

Prediction : Yankees in four

The Yankees have beat up on the Twins since 2003, even with the Yankees limping into this postseason, this team is too stocked with talent to lose. The Yanks may have questions in the rotation, but if all works well I expect the Yanks to win this in four games.