Who do the Yankees want to face in the playoffs?

After the 160th game of the regular season, we now know the four five American League teams headed for the playoffs. But we have no idea who's playing whom. Yet.

If searching for exciting sports betting information (sponsored), the playoffs are on the horizon and predicting the outcomes could be fun. But first, the matchups need to get settled in these last two games. Here are the competitors:

Yankees

Orioles

Tigers

Rangers

Athletics

If the playoffs ended today (before tonight's action), the A's and O's would play in the wild card game and the Yankees would play the winner. That would leave the Rangers and Tigers for the other ALDS matchup.

Judging by the season's head-to-head matchups, the Yankees would prefer to face the Tigers. But there's a little more to it, I think.

Poll Results: Yankees are 'postseason good'

Not World Series good, just postseason good.

That's what the Yankees are, according 76 percent of the voters in my latest poll.

Since I launched this poll, the Yankees' record (48-31) has dropped to second-best in the majors, as the Rangers are now on top at 50-30.

Brett Gardner delivers walk-off in 12th

The Yankees finished their sweep of the Rangers, but it took more than nine innings. After an excellent spot start by journeyman Brian Gordon, the Yankees finally got a hit with a runner in scoring position from Brett Gardner in the 12th inning.

Scoreboard Says:
Yankees 3, Rangers 2
W: Cory Wade*
L: Michael Kirkman

Rangers-Yankees Series Preview:

The AL West leaders are in town, and the Yankees are without their captain, at least for tonight.

The Yankees have beaten the Rangers two out of three at home and on the road this season, and the Rangers have lost five of their last seven games.

On the Hill:
Tuesday: Alexi Ogando (7-0, 2.10) vs. CC Sabathia (7-4, 3.15)
Wednesday: Derek Holland (5-1, 4.41) vs. Ivan Nova (5-4, 4.30)
Thursday: C.J. Wilson (7-3, 3.09) vs. TBA*

Rangers-Yankees Series Preview: Bring on the heat!

The Yankees begin a three-game set with the Rangers at Yankee Stadium tonight. Below, you’ll find an intimidating list of opposing pitchers’ records. Note: Hopefully now you have less doubts of me predicting the Rangers to represent the AL in the World Series again this year.

Also, keep in mind Josh Hamilton just landed on the DL. The Rangers are weakened, but they are still a powerful squad without their star.

On the Hill:
Friday: Matt Harrison (2-0, 1.29) vs. Ivan Nova (1-0, 6.10)
Saturday: Derek Holland (2-0, 2.25) vs. Freddy Garcia (0-0, 9.00)
Sunday: Alexi Ogando (2-0, 0.00) vs. CC Sabathia (0-1, 1.45)

My preseason World Series picks will shock you, but they’re looking good right now

In an offseason that the best got better (Phillies, Red Sox), who would’ve picked the Rangers (6-0) and Reds (5-0) to make the World Series? That would be me, and neither team has lost through a week of play.

Meanwhile, the all-mighty Red Sox join the Rays and Astros as the only winless teams in baseball. [Full standings]

Perhaps I’m getting a bit too excited — OK, I am — but it’s still cool to see the Red Sox and Rays winless after a week.

Speaking of odd predictions looking good right now: one commenter said to watch out for the Orioles this year. The Orioles, really? Yeah, well they’re in first place and have looked great under Buck Showalter’s management.

Now it’s time to explain my surprising World Series picks.

Giants prove pitching wins championships

Take notes, Brian Cashman. The Giants won the World Series with dominant pitching and a little bit of hitting. Here are the numbers:

Postseason Stats	Team ERA	Team WHIP	Team BA	Team OPS
Giants	2.47	1.01	.237	.670
Rangers	3.70	1.17	.255	.738
Yankees	5.01	1.47	.241	.739

The trend isn’t too hard to spot. Between the two World Series teams and the Yankees, the champion had the best pitching and the worst hitting statistics.

I expect the Yankees to make at least one big splash on the free agent market this offseason. I’m hoping Cashman will fish the pitching market, rather than the hitting market.

Yanks-Rangers ALCS sets record TV ratings

Via Sports Newser:

Game 6 of the American League Championship Series delivered a 7.2 U.S. household rating and 11.9 million viewers, making it the most watched Major League Baseball game of the 2010 season.

Rangers-Yankees was also the second most watched program in the 34-year history of TBS, finishing behind Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS between Boston and Tampa Bay (7.9/13.4).

The 2010 ALCS was the most watched LCS in the network’s history, averaging a 5.1 U.S. rating and more than 8.2 million total viewers.

Congrats to TBS, I guess. I’m so happy the Yankees could help the network even though they lost…

Rangers finish off 2010 Yankees

The Rangers have eliminated the Yankees from the playoffs. It was fun while it lasted, but a World Series repeat just wasn’t meant to be.

Props to Colby Lewis and Cliff Lee for pitching lights out baseball this series. Lewis dominated for eight innings tonight, allowing just three hits and one run in a 6-1 victory.

While watching the Rangers celebrate in Texas I actually feel good for them. They hadn’t even won a playoff series before beating the Rays in the ALDS. I’ll be rooting for them in the World Series, even if it’s against the Giants.

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Even though we’re all in a bad mood tonight, I just want to say thank you to all of my followers this year. It really means a lot. I had fun this year, and I hope everyone will continue reading my Yankees coverage and analysis this offseason. Thanks again everybody!

Yankeeist: Texas’ success with two strikes

Larry Koestler of Yankeeist posted a great analysis today on how the Rangers have been successful against the Yankees when hitting with two strikes. Here’s an enticing excerpt:

But the biggest eye-opener here is Texas' overall batting line with two strikes. The American League overall hit .181/.251/.275 with two strikes in the count in 2010. Texas is hitting a ridiculous .251/.298/.392 with two strikes! While they did hit .201/.263/.293 in those situations during the season, they've clearly been dramatically overperforming all series.

Be sure to check out the post for his full analysis.

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Oh by the way, Game 6 is tonight at 8 p.m.! Here are the lineups; Lance Berkman is hitting fifth and Phil Hughes is on the hill. Plus: CC Sabathia is available for “anything.”

Granderson fuels Game 5 win, Yanks headed back to Texas trailing 3-2

Now this series just got a little more interesting. Curtis Granderson kept the second-inning rally going with an RBI single and then homered in the eighth to lead the Yankees to a 7-2 victory in Game 5. Now the series heads back to Texas for the two remaining games (if necessary).

Best of All: Granderson rode his hot September into October and is still hot. He was clearly the unofficial ALDS MVP and now he’s challenging Robinson Cano (he homered again today) for the ALCS MVP (that is, if the Yankees win).

CC Sabathia turned in a much better start than he did in Game 1, earning the victory on six innings pitched. He allowed 11 hits but worked out of trouble thanks to seven strikeouts and a couple of double plays.

Worst of All: Marcus Thames, Lance Berkman and Brett Gardner were hitless, but that’s about it.

My ALCS Game 4 experience [Photos]

It sparked flashbacks to both the Jeffrey Maier and Steve Bartman incidents. It featured some of the most idiotic postseason management tactics of all time (more on that later today). It saw Mark Teixeira go down with an ugly hamstring injury (he’s being replaced by Eduardo Nunez). Like Game 3, it changed in the Rangers favor on one pitch. Oh, and did I mention it was freezing?

It was the first postseason game I’ve ever attended.

Since the Yankees fell hard, 10-3, the highlight of the night actually came before the game started. Our bleacher seats were located about 15 feet away from Cal Ripken Jr. and the rest of the TBS pregame crew. After the show ended, Ripken stayed behind for about 25 minutes signing autographs.

Total class act. I had heard he always gave time for the fans, but I had never seen him in person before. I caught him early when there weren’t as many fans, but I still felt bad a little when a swarm of fans came over after. Then again, I think he and every major leaguer owes it to the fans.

There it is right on the back of my ticket. Thank you, Cal, for signing, and thank you, Fletch, for taking me.

For more photos from ALCS Game 4, check out my Facebook page!

Lee lights out in Game 3, Rangers go up 2-1

Cliff Lee didn’t live up to all the hype for his ALCS Game 3 start against the Yankees. He actually exceeded the hype: eight shutout innings, two hits, one walk and 13 Ks. And the Rangers won easily, 8-0, to take a 2-1 lead in the ALCS.

Best of All: The Yankees didn’t get embarrassed in the postseason as much as the Reds did when Roy Halladay no-hit them in the ALDS. I consider the Yankees lucky to come away with two hits against Lee tonight. He had unhittable stuff.

Andy Pettitte did his best to compete with Lee, lasting seven innings and striking out five. His only blemish was a two-run homer to Josh Hamilton in the first inning.

P.S.: Yankees fans might be seeing Lee in pinstripes next year if he signs as a free agent — but I’m not giving up on this year quite yet.

Worst of All: I think the score says it all.

Coming Up: Game 4 is Tuesday night. Same time, same place. The only difference is that I’ll be in attendance.

Poll Results: Yankees four-man rotation a questionable decision

The latest poll results were inconclusive, as fans couldn’t agree on whether the Yankees’ move to a four-man rotation was the right decision. After much debate, my roommate and I voted for “If they’re winning,” then go with the four-man. This means it is still possible I’d agree with the move, but it’ll take an impressive performance from Andy Pettitte and the Yankee offense against Cliff Lee in Game 3 tonight.

However, it seems the decision isn’t as definite as we all thought it was when it was first released, according to the Star-Ledger.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn’t rule out the possibility that CC Sabathia could pitch on short rest in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series Tuesday.

“Right now, we are on rotation,” Girardi said after the Yankees’ 7-2 loss to the Rangers today. “So I mean, we haven’t discussed that with anyone.”

I think Girardi is siding with my roommate and I. If the Yankees fall against Lee tonight, I’m betting Girardi will switch Sabathia in for A.J. Burnett for Game 4. This would also allow Sabathia to pitch a possible Game 7 against Lee on short rest. I think it’s a move Girardi has to make if trailing 2-1 in the series.

Rangers even series, bullpen recovers

Another epic comeback wasn’t in store for the Yankees tonight, as the Rangers’ bullpen tossed 3-1/3 scoreless innings and held on for a 7-2 win.

Best of All: Robinson Cano’s sixth-inning homer is still flying. OK, it landed in the upper deck about five seconds after he hit it, but it might still be going if there were no seats in the outfield.

Worst of All: The Yankees left 12 men on base and went 1-for-11 with RISP. In other words, they still could’ve won despite Phil Hughes’ rough start.

Hughes allowed seven runs on 10 hits, walked three and struck out three over four innings and 88 pitches. Nothing like the guy we saw in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium in the ALDS.

Coming Up: The series heads to New York tied at 1 with Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte on deck for Monday night.

Twitter describes last night’s win in 1 word

I haven’t posted about last night’s game until now because I’m still getting over Andrew Marchand’s ridiculous post. By now you should know the Yankees won a thriller against Texas in Game 1.

Here’s a nice infographic of the Yankees’ eighth inning from MLB.com.
In a single word, here’s how a few Twitter followers described last night’s win.
Thanks for pitching in everyone! To participate in future Twitter polls, follow me on Twitter here.

ALCS Notes: Hamilton, Pettitte, A-Rod, Tex

I’ve already posted my ALCS preview, but I want to highlight four players in more depth.

The Baseball Beat blog has a nice series preview post of its own, and I especially like who the writer chose as his players to watch.

Texas Player To Watch: OF Josh Hamilton- Hamilton is this team’s MVP and greatly struggles in the ALDS. You have to wonder how much his ribs are bothering him. If the Rangers hope to win, Hamilton needs to produce.

New York Player To Watch: SP Andy Pettitte- Pettitte needs to outduel Lee in a pivotal game 3 of this series and might have to do it again in game 7 with the season on the line.

I couldn’t agree more with both picks. Hamilton is probably the favorite for AL MVP, but it’ll look pretty bad if he winds up winning it and has an awful postseason. So far, he has. He needs to turn it around in the ALCS if the Rangers want to play in their first ever World Series.

As for Pettitte, I don’t think it’s a coincidence he was pushed back in the rotation to face Cliff Lee. The Yankees understand how important Pettitte was to them last postseason (he won all three series clinching games), and if he can prove he’s still a big game pitcher the Yankees will have no trouble getting past the Rangers.

The Ex-Rangers Sub-Plot:
Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira manned the corners of the Rangers infield back in 2003. This year, they’re the top two Yankees sluggers and are looking to bury their old team. It will be interesting to see the Texas crowd’s reaction if either one of them goes yard.

Here are a couple of strange off-the-field issues surrounding both players:

• Rangers owner Tom Hicks has gone on record saying the A-Rod contract was “one of the dumb things” he’s done as owner.
• Ron Washington and Teixeira don’t get along well, as reported by the NY Daily News.

Yankees-Rangers ALCS preview

The Yankees are eight wins away from repeating as champions. After dispatching the Twins in three easy games, the Yankees will face the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers almost fell apart against the Rays in the ALDS, but a heroic performance by Cliff Lee in Game 5 earned them the franchise’s first ever postseason series victory. Now they’ll face a team that’s eliminated them three times in the postseason.

Head to Head:
The Yankees and Rangers split eight regular season matchups evenly, but as I detail in this post, I’m taking the last series when the Rangers swept the Yankees with a green of salt.

Pitching Matchups:

• Broadcast schedule for Games 1-4

Game 1: CC Sabathia vs. C.J. Wilson 
This matchup is why I think the Yankees have the edge in the series. Because the Rangers used Lee in Game 5 of the ALDS, he was pushed back to Game 3 of the ALCS. Does Wilson have a chance against Sabathia? I don’t think so. And it looks like they’d meet again in Game 5 if necessary.

Game 2: Phil Hughes vs. Colby Lewis 
The way Hughes pitched in Game 3 of the ALDS gives me great confidence in him this series. Lewis did a nice job of shutting down the Rays in Game 3, but couldn’t go deep enough to clinch the series. I support Joe Girardi’s decision to throw Hughes in Game 2 at Texas because he proved this year he’s a road warrior. Plus, you might recall Hughes’ second start of his career was a memorable night in Texas.

Game 3: Cliff Lee vs. Andy Pettitte
This is the defining game of the series. Can the Yankees beat Cliff Lee, the starter who’s been as close to lights out as you can get in the postseason? Pettitte seems to be at full strength and is known for pitching in big postseason games. It’s worth noting he is the all-time postseason leader in wins. In addition, he’ll have the fans of Yankee Stadium behind him. Lee gets the slight edge, but it should be a great game to watch.

Game 4: Tommy Hunter vs. A.J. Burnett
I’ll be at this game, and I think this is when the fireworks could break out this series. When I think think of this matchup, all I see is Burnett’s straight fastball and Josh Hamilton’s pretty home run derby swing at Yankee Stadium. That’s scary. Hunter made one start against the Yankees this season, striking out eight over five innings and allowing nine base runners. I predict a total of 20 runs scored in this game.

Roster Notes:
The Yankees are using the same roster as they did in the ALDS, but they did mix up the rotation. Here’s a nice post from LoHud on Girardi’s thought process.

Yankees Have the Edge: 
To reiterate from my previous post, “I’d say the key is the starting pitching, and the fact that Lee is starting Game 3 — not Game 1.”

Prediction:
Yankees in five. W, W, L, W, W. CC Sabathia wins ALCS MVP once again. Hey, I nailed my ALDS prediction and my National League champion pick is still around.

Olney’s Key to ALCS: The pen is mightier

ESPN’s Buster Olney offered his take on both the ALCS and NLCS this morning on SportsCenter. This might surprise you, but Olney said the Giants’ and Yankees’ left-handed specialists (LOOGY*) will give them the edge in their respective series.

Before I get into that analysis, I’d like to quickly note Olney’s prediction bodes well for my preseason World Series prediction: Yankees-Giants. Thank you. Ah, thank you.

One of my Twitter followers suggested this:

The fact that the closer is not the key to winning is a joke. Last year [7] closers faltered and one didn't. The one won.

Nice point. However, it’s worth noting Mariano Rivera’s worst ERA against any opponent this season was 5.79 against the Rangers.

I don’t think the key to the series is just one reliever. I’d say the key is the starting pitching, and the fact that Cliff Lee is starting Game 3 — not Game 1.

If the Yankees can put the Rangers in a 2-0 hole going into Lee’s start, the Rangers will have lost all their momentum from winning their first ever postseason series. And I’m quite confident CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes can duplicate their ALDS performances to put the Rangers in a hole.

I was doing some research on both team’s pitching, and I came across some pretty interesting splits.

Reg. Season Splits	Yankees	Rangers
Starters ERA	4.35	4.23
Bullpen ERA	3.47	3.38

Both teams have great pitching. But I think since the Yankees have the edge early in the series, the Rangers will have difficulties making a comeback.

*For the clueless people staring at the acronym LOOGY, it stands for Lefty One-Out GuY. Creative, eh?

Also, here’s the video for my headline’s reference.

This picture might make your morning

As first seen on SB Nation’s Lookout Landing.

Just to back up this clever picture-caption, here are Cliff Lee’s postseason numbers.

• He threw 90 strikes in 120 pitches in his Game 5 win over the Rays.
• He averaged eight innings, one earned run and 10.5 strikeouts in two starts against Tampa Bay in the ALDS.
• He is 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA in seven postseason starts.

However, the Yankees DID score five against him in Game 5 of last year’s World Series. Lee still picked up the win, however, and in his Game 1 victory he allowed one unearned run over nine innings.