Early reactions to facing the Twins

When I found out the Yankees would face the Twins in the ALDS, not the Rangers, I spent a whole bus ride back to Quinnipiac from New York City thinking about the matchup.

But before I get into my points, here’s a look at what a couple of my Twitter followers had to say.

Looks like we have two differing opinions here. I think Mike’s take is a little more accurate. Here’s why:

The Yankees went 13-17 in September/October. That’s why they are the wild card, and the Rays are the AL East champs who get home-field advantage until the World Series.

I think Mr. Old Reliable (aka Andy Pettitte) is the key to the series. Without a quality start from him, whether it be Game 2 or 3, the Yankees will need to put a lot of runs on the board to out-hit one of the hottest offenses in baseball.

CC Sabathia and Robinson Cano must continue to do what they’ve been doing all year, and I think Alex Rodriguez can also be relied on to have a big series, but that trio can’t beat the Twins all by themselves.

P.S.: The last time the Yankees had a losing record in a month prior to this September was August 2008 (13-15) — via Twitter.

Did you hear what the Tigers are doing next year? And what they’re not doing?

The Tigers had two interesting news items about ex-Yankees yesterday.

1. They are planning on using Phil Coke as a starter next year.
2. They are not going to re-sign Johnny Damon.

On Coke:
This move should upset Yankees fans. The Yankees shouldn’t have given up their top lefty reliever in a trade for Curtis Granderson last offseason. Coke posted another solid line for the Tigers and will be tested as a starter next year. Don’t get me wrong, Boone Logan had a fine year as well. But with Damaso Marte on the DL now and most of the year, the Yankees could’ve used a better second lefty than Royce Ring (who isn’t guaranteed to be on the postseason roster).

On The Idiot:
Last month I thought I caught Damon hinting at wishing he were still a Yank. A week later he came out saying he loved Detroit, but doesn’t know whether he’ll be back with them next year. Will he be a Yankee next year? I don’t think so. The bridges have been burned.

Poll Results: Hughes should start Game 3

In one of the most lopsided polls in lenNY’s Yankees history, fans voted Phil Hughes should start Game 3 of the ALDS instead of A.J. Burnett.

The fans may have a point.

Sadly, the player they chose to start Game 3 isn’t the one making $16.5 MM. Hughes made a cool $447K this year.

For the record, Joe Girardi hasn’t said a word about the Yankees postseason roster, let alone the postseason rotation. Well, unless you count this: “We know that Derek Jeter is going to be on the roster.”

My expected playoff rotation is CC Sabathia for Game 1, obviously, then Andy Pettitte, then Hughes. After that, it depends on the status of the series.

New poll: Who’s your favorite to win the World Series?

Last game of the year decides everything

If the Yankees had swept the doubleheader yesterday, today’s game wouldn’t have mattered. But a walk-off win by the Red Sox (also known as the PawSox) made the 162nd game of the season matter.

Dustin Moseley and the Yankees will face John Lackey at 1:35 p.m. and the Rays are calling on Wade Davis to take on Sean O’Sullivan of the Royals at 2:10 p.m.

Sadly, I’ll be at the Met Museum in New York City all day so I probably won’t get to watch much of the game if any at all.

In two starts against the Yankees this year, Lackey notched one good and one poor start. Moseley came up big against the Sox in his only start against them this year on Aug. 8.

My final score prediction: 4-2 Yankees. Derek Jeter will come through with the big hit.

Yankees-Red Sox series preview

This is it. The final series of the year. What we’ve all been waiting for since schedules were released Sept. 15, 2009. But wait, it’s not going to be that intense.

The Red Sox are already eliminated and are playing on one leg. However, I’m sure Terry Francona will do everything in his power to keep the Yankees from getting home-field advantage in the postseason.

This weekend will be exciting because of the frantic scoreboard checking. The Rays are out in Kansas City for a set with the Royals. Get ready for lots of updates from me on those games on here and Twitter.

Head to Head:
The Yankees are 8-7 against the Red Sox this season. New York needs to take two games this weekend to win the season series, but really, they’ve already won the war by knocking Boston out of the playoffs earlier this week.

Pitching Matchups:

Date:	Yankees starters	Red Sox starters
Fri., 7:10 p.m.	Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.17)	D. Matsuzaka (9-6, 4.72)
Sat., 4:10 p.m.	A.J. Burnett (10-15, 5.33)	Clay Buchholz (17-7, 2.33)
Sun., 1:35 p.m.	TBA	John Lackey (13-11, 4.47)

Roster Notes: It’s too early to tell who will start Sunday’s season finale for the Yankees. It’s possible, though unlikely, that the Yankees will have already clinched home-field before Sunday’s game.

Prediction:
I like the Yankees this weekend with Alex Rodriguez and his red hot bat leading the way. I’ll say they take two out of three and clinch home-field on Sunday.