Ace High

Jon Lester showed yesterday that he is the best pitcher right now on Boston's staff and might be the best left-handed starter in the majors. His complete-game, 6-2 win over the Twins was a dominant performance. A performance that reflects the fact that, with 101 starts, Lester has a better win percentage (.719) that any pitcher ever with 100 or more starts. And he's only 26 years old.

Clay Brings It

I thought that last night's pitching matchup was a good one for the Sox. I figured that even if Clay Buchholz got tagged for four or five runs, the Sox could get that off of Minnesota's Scott Baker. What I didn't expect was for Clay Buchholz to pitch brilliantly in a 3-2 Boston win. Over eight innings, Clay made a convincing argument that he is the second-best pitcher on this squad right now, trailing only Jon Lester.

Francisco! That's fun to say! Francisco. Frannncisco.

Actually, it's not fun at all. I tried hard to channel Buddy the Elf after Francisco Liriano led the Twins in a 8-0 beatdown of the Red Sox. But it's hard to have good cheer and a bright attitude when a team that is supposed to have great defense commits three errors and a pitcher that the Sox have hit with regularity looks Gibson-esque.

Goodbye Twins! Bring On The Angels!

The Yankees are back in the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2004 ... and this time they have the swagger of a champion.

Andy Pettitte pitched 6-1/3 brilliant innings, Alex Rodriguez hit a tying homer and Derek Jeter added to his postseason legend with another brilliant play as the Yankees defeated the Twins 4-1 Sunday at the Metrodome to sweep their best-of-five AL Division Series, 3-0.

The Yankees now have four days to rest before beginning the ALCS at Yankee Stadium against the ... Angels?

Um, Dave, um, what happened? Wasn't the ALCS supposed to Sox Vs. Stripes? Maybe next year.

But this year, it's the Yankees who have taken then next step on their quest for their 27th World Series championship.

Game 3 provided a second consecutive pitchers' duel and a fitting final game for the Metrodome. The Twins will move into their new outdoor stadium, Target Field, next season.

Andy Pettitte and Carl "American Idle" Pavano locked horns, matching each other pitch for pitch into the sixth inning. I hate to say, "I told you so," but ... Oh, who the heck are we kidding? I wrote Pavano was going to pitch well, and sure enough, he did.

Pavano took the loss, allowing two runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out nine -- a Twins playoff record -- and threw 64 of 95 pitches for strikes. He pitched well enough to get the win, had he received any offensive support.

Pettitte was a big reason for that lack of support, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth and allowing just one run on three hits and one walk before departing with one out in the seventh. He struck out seven, threw 58 of 81 pitches for strikes, earned his 15th career playoff victory and was pulled from the game way too early.

Joe Girardi did a tremendous job managing the bullpen in the regular season, but in the last two playoff games he's had way too quick a hook and is overmanaging a bit, though it hasn't come back to bite him. There was no reason to pull a veteran such as Pettitte in the seventh at just 81 pitches.

Both offenses struggled to get anything going until the Twins broke through in the sixth. Denard Span singled with two outs and stole second before Orlando Cabrera walked. MVP candidate Joe Mauer then grounded the first pitch from Pettitte into left field to give the Twins the 1-0 lead and breath some energy into the Metrodome crowd.

The crowd, though, would be silenced quickly.

With one out A-Rod launched a full-count, 92 mph fastball from Pavano and deposited into the retractable football seats in right to tie it at 1.

For the series, A-Rod went 5-for-11 (.455) with two game-tying homers and six RBI, three of which came with two outs and three that tied the score.

A-Rod looks relaxed and focused. He's locked in. Don't expect him to suddenly stop producing in the next round. This is going to be a big October for him. This was just the start.

One out later, Jorge Posada crushed a hanging 0-and-1 sinker and put it into the stands into left to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead that the Twins just couldn't overcome.

Joba Chamberlain got the final two outs of the seventh before Jeter worked a little of his postseason magic to bail out Phil Hughes in the eighth.

Nick Punto greeted Hughes with a double and the Yankees' lead was in jeopardy. Span then bounced a ball back up the middle that Jeter ranged wide to his left, fielded in the outfield on the second base side, whirled and threw home, surprising Punto, who had made the turn around third and was trying to score. Punto stopped and tried to scramble back to third, but was too late. Posada's throw to A-Rod was in plenty of time and Rodriguez applied the tag.

In Jeter's career, among the many things he will be remember for will be three defensive plays: the flip play in the 2001 ALDS at Oakland, the dive into the stands against the Red Sox in 2004 and now this heads-up play.

Really, all you can say is, "Typical Jeter." He always seems to come up with the big play or get the big hit when the Yankees need it the most.

Hughes then got Cabrera to fly out for the second out before Girardi went to Mariano Rivera, who got the ever-dangerous Mauer to ground out to first.

With Rivera on, the game certainly was all but over, but the Yankees made sure to get him some breathing room in the ninth as Posada and Robinson Cano singled in big insurance runs to make it 4-1.

Rivera then pitched around a leadoff single to close it out, lowering his career postseason ERA to 0.74 and recording his 35th career postseason save.

The Yankees did everything right this series.

They got great pitching with their starters going 2-0, allowing four runs, three earned, in 19 innings (1.42 ERA) with 21 strikeouts.

They got great defense, with right fielder Nick Swisher also throwing out a runner a second base in this game.

And they outhomered the Twins 6-0 and got timely hitting from big hitters such as A-Rod, Posada, Jeter and Mark Teixiera.

Those are the reasons the Yankees are advancing to the ALCS for the first time in five years.

And those are the reasons this team will capture World Series title No. 27.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALDS
6-for-17 (.353)
Game 3
2-for-5 (.400)
Game 2
1-for-4 (.250)
Game 1
3-for-8 (.375)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
ALCS
Game 1, Friday vs. Angels, Time TBA, Fox
Expected Starters: John Lackey vs. CC Sabathia

An Idle Threat

Yankees fans smell blood in the water.

The Twins are down 0-2 and have Carl Pavano on the mound trying to save their season.

That's right. THAT Carl Pavano.

The same one who signed a four-year, $39.95 million contract with the Yankees before the 2005 season, only to make 26 starts total and go 9-8 with a 5.00 ERA, spending so much time on the disabled list with injuries that ranged from elbow problems to a broken rib sustained in a car accident to a bruised buttock that he earned the nickname "American Idle."

This can't be the guy the Twins are turning to, is it? Really?

But a word of warning: This is not going to be as easy as many Yankees fans think.

In New York we have a tendency to write off and demean anyone who, as the song says, "can't make it there."

We diminish their abilities and ignore anything they accomplished before stepping on the big stage under the bright lights of the big city.

We say they are bums and suck.

It's a mistake.

We learned that in 2006 when Kenny Rogers, a decided postseason failure with both the Yankees and Mets, pitched 7-2/3 shutout innings for the Tigers in a 6-0 Game 3 ALDS victory over the Bombers.

It would be a mistake to do that with Pavano, too.

Look, I'm not an apologist for Pavano, or even a fan of his, but there are two sides to every story and rest assured that Pavano has his gripes about how he was treated in New York, especially by Mike Mussina and in Joe Torre's book "The Yankee Years."

Pavano went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 2004 with the Marlins and made two starts in the postseason for them in 2003, including Game 4 of the World Series against the Yankees, which Florida won 4-3 in 12 innings. Pavano allowed one run on seven hits and one walk in eight innings in that game.

He has command of a good fastball and when he gets ahead of hitters, the throws a nasty change that acts more like a forkball, diving down and out of the strike zone. The guy does have some ability.

If you ask Pavano, you can bet he will tell you that he never intended for his Yankee Years to turn out as they did. He had big expectations for himself but just couldn't stay healthy. Some of the injuries were bizarre and questionable, but Pavano will tell you they were real and that he just couldn't pitch.

"It's definitely a black period in my career," Pavano told The Hartford Courant's Dom Amore. "Four years where I was kind of treading water. I've been able to go out there, with sustained health, and get through the year, and now everything has come full circle. I am getting a start in the playoffs, and I can't ask for much more than that."

And when Pavano's contract ended after last season, the parting was far from amicable: the Yankees bitter over a wasted $40 million, Pavano disappointed in his perceived lack of support through all his injuries.

Pavano pitched as if he had something to prove to his former mates when he pitched against the Yankees earlier this season with the Indians, allowing four runs on 11 hits and one walk in 13-1/3 innings in two starts, receiving no decisions in each outing.

Count on him to try to pitch like that today ... and at the Metrodome, he just might come up big. Afterall, he did beat the Royals last Sunday in Minnesota, going on three days' rest, to force a playoff game with the Tigers for the AL Central crown.

The Metrodome historically has been a very tough place for visitors to play. It gets loud. The ball gets lost against the dome. The field is turf. And it gets loud.

The thing is that the Yankees have plenty going for them aside from their 2-0 ALDS lead. Since the Metrodome opened in 1982, the Yankees are 77-64 there and have gone 4-0 in the playoffs at the dome in two series (2003, '04).

In addition, the Yankees have Andy Pettitte, a playoff stalwart, on the mound. In 35 postseason starts, Pettitte is 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 218-1/3 innings. He has pitched the equivalent of another full regular season in just the playoffs. He's not likely to be rattled by the raucous Metrodome crowd.

Look, the Yankees very likely are going to close it out tonight. I'm not saying they are going to lose.

Just don't expect it be easy or a rout simply because Carl Pavano, "American Idle" will be on the mound.

The Ghosts Are In The New House

During the epic Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, Derek Jeter turned to Aaron Boone and told him not to worry. Jeter assured Boone that the Ghosts that had brought the Yankee so many improbable October victories would arrive in time to bring yet another win.

Friday, those Ghosts took up residency at the new Yankee Stadium.

Alex Rodriguez hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth and Mark Teixeira earned the first playoff shaving cream pie with a leadoff homer in the 11th as the Yankees beat the Twins 4-3 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in this AL Division Series.

This is the type of playoff baseball Yankee fans had grown so accustomed to seeing during the late 1990s ... and it's so, so, so good to have it back.

The game was an absolute classic and a bit of everything: great pitching, clutch hitting, bone-head plays, poor umpiring, questionable managerial moves and, most importantly, a great ending.

Coming into the game, all the attention was focused on A.J. Burnett and Joe Girardi's decision to start Jose Molina at catcher. Girardi wanted to make sure he got a strong start out of talented, but inconsistent righthander.

Girardi got exactly what he wanted as Burnett was strong from the start and allowed just one run on three hits and five walks. He struck out six, threw 57 of 95 pitches for strikes and got very lucky in the fourth inning.

With two outs, Burnett hit Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez with pitches to put runners on first and second. Matt Tolbert then grounded a single to right that seemed sure to plate a run, but Gomez slipped around second and Nick Swisher threw in behind him to Derek Jeter waiting at second to apply the tag before Young could cross the plate. The game remained scoreless.

Meanwhile, the Yankees' offense just couldn't get anything going against Nick Blackburn, who carried a no-hitter into the fifth, when Robinson Cano singled to break it up. Blackburn ended up allowing one run on three hits and two walks.

And with every pitch Burnett and Blackburn threw, the tension mounted. Neither team was able to score until the sixth.

In the top half, Young walked with one out and stole second as Gomez struck out. Brendan Harris, pinch hitting for Tolbert, then rocketed a shot off the wall in left for a triple to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The Yankees, though, answered in the bottom half as Jeter doubled with one one before Johnny Damon walked and Teixeira flied out. That brought up A-Rod. Would Wednesday's two RBI singles prove to be a fluke?

Not this year. This October is shaping up to be all A-Rod's.

Rodriguez grounded a sharp single to left to bring in Jeter and tie it at 1.

It was now a battle of bullpens ... and questionable decisions.

Girardi brought in Joba Chamberlain, who allowed a hit in two-thirds of an inning before Girardi summoned Phil Coke to face Joe Mauer. Coke struck out Mauer, but in one inning, Girardi had used two bullets out of his bullpen. Mauer is a great hitter, but Joba's stuff has been electic, why not let Joba face Hughes there and save Coke until later?

Phil Hughes started the eighth with two quick out before running into trouble. Gomez walked and Harris singled to put runners on the corners. Nick Punto then brought in one with a single to center on a 2-and-2 hanging curve. Why Hughes is throwing a curve there is beyond me, but if he's going to try to break one off, he has to make sure he buries the pitch in the dirt. He didn't and he got burned.

Mariano Rivera relieved, but Denard Span greeted him with a soft single to make it 3-1, and fear that this series would head to Minnesota tied a 1 was creeping into Yankee Universe.

But the Ghosts were not about to let that happen. This is Yankee Stadium and it's October, when the improbable always seems to happen.

Closer Joe Nathan, who tied with Rivera for the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award this season, came on to try to close out the ninth for the Twins. Teixeira got things going with a single to bring up A-Rod.

Nathan missed with three sliders to start the at-bat and then on 3-and-1 threw a 94 mph fastball that A-Rod crushed into the bullpen in the right-center to tie it at 3.

After four postseasons of absolute misery and futility, A-Rod is off to an amazing start this year. In the two games, Rodriguez has four hits, one homer and five RBI, three of which came with two outs and the other two allowed the Yankees to tie the score.

A-Rod is quickly shedding his postseason choker reputation, and the bodes well for the Yankees' World Series hopes.

Then things got really interesting.

With one out in the 10th, Jorge Posada, who pinch hit for Molina in the sixth, singled. Pinch runner Brett Gardner promptly stole second and went to third on Nathan's errant pickoff throw. The Twins then walked Jeter intentionally and the Yankees were poised to end it. Damon, however, lined to short and, for some reason, Gardner was running on contact, resulting in an inning-ending double play and giving the Twins life.

Girardi then made a poor move. Alfredo Aceves had pitched the 10th. During the regular season, Girardi normally would let Ace pitch two or three innings in that spot. But in this game, he elected to bring in Damaso Marte to face lefties Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel.

The move nearly backfired, except the Yankees got some help when umpire Phil Cuzzi blew a call. Mauer lofted a fly ball down the line that Melky Cabera got his glove on in fair territory with the ball landing in fair territory, yet Cuzzi called the ball foul. It would have been a double. Between that call and the poor calls in the Red Sox-Angels series, this playoffs has had way too much poor umpiring. It's a shame.

Mauer ended up hitting a single and Kubel followed with another single before Girardi replaced Marte with David Robertson. Michael Cuddyer greeted Robertson with a single to load the bases with no outs and the Yankees were in trouble.

Robertson, however, got Young to line out to first and got Gomez to ground into a force out with Teixeira throwing out Mauer at the plate for the second out. Robertson escaped the jam by getting Harris to fly out to center to preserve the tie at 3.

That was the good news. The bad news was that Girardi had nearly exhausted his bullpen. With a day off today, Girardi could have afforded to go longer with both Joba and Aceves. Instead, he had just Chad Gaudin left out there.

The Yankees needed the game to end and end quickly.

The Ghosts answered their prayers in the bottom half, as Teixeira lined a 91 mph, 1-and-2 fastball from Jose Mijares that hit off the top of the wall in left and bounced into the stands.

The stadium erupted and rocked. Teixeira's teammates mobbed him at home. And Burnett delivered his special pie during the postgame interview with TBS.

This is how October at Yankee Stadium is supposed be: filled with Ghosts, drama and plenty of victories.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALDS
4-for-12 (.333)
Game 2
1-for-4 (.250)
Game 1
3-for-8 (.375)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
ALDS Game 3
Sunday at Minnesota, 7:07 p.m.
Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16 ERA; 2009 vs. Twins: 1-0, 5.40 ERA in 1 start)
vs.
Carl Pavano (14-12, 5.10 ERA; 2009 vs. Yankees: 0-0, 2.70 ERA in 2 starts)

Forget Posada-Molina; It's All About A.J.

Ever since Joe Girardi made the announcement, the focus for tonight's Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Twins has been on who should catch.

Jose Molina is getting the nod over Jorge Posada ... and Posada, understandably, is far from happy.

But when you strip away all the noise, the reality comes into focus ... and that is tonight's game is entirely about A.J. Burnett.

The Yankees signed Burnett to a fat five-year, $82.5 million because he has electric stuff that is damn near unhittable when Burnett is on. Hitters simply hate facing him. But aside from last season when he won 18 games, Burnett, 32, has never won more than 13 victories in a season. He was wild and inconsistent.

This season, Burnett has shown that his final year in Toronto (18-10) to be more of a fluke than a revelation. He's had streaks of brilliance and stretches of hideousness. His season has been streaky and he's shown himself to be a bit of a headcase in going 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA.

Of late, Burnett's been terrific, going 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in his last six starts pitching to Molina.

Burnett's in a groove, he's hitting on all cylinders again ... and that puts Girardi in a bit of bind.

Posada, rightfully, is the Yankees' No. 1 catcher. Yes, he has his flaws. He's hard-headed and doesn't always work well with his starters, creating the impression that he doesn't call a good game. He doesn't smother balls in the dirt well. He also doesn't block the plate well.

But he is also a superior offensive player. He's a leader. He throws out base stealers well enough (31 of 111, 27.9 percent this season). And, most importantly, the team wins when he's behind the plate.

This season the Yankees went 65-46 in games in which Posada caught, 29-23 with Molina and 25-17 with Francisco Cervelli (Note: there is some overlap because of games in which one player replaced another).

It's no coincidence that the Yankees missed the playoffs last season when Posada, who has caught 97 postseason games, missed most of the year with a shoulder injury.

And the last time Posada didn't start a playoff game was Game 3 of the 2005 ALDS when Joe Torre elected to have John Flaherty catch Randy Johnson, who also didn't mesh well with Posada. The result: an 11-7 loss to the Angels.

But Posada and Burnett have had their ups and downs. Posada caught Burnett's brilliant one-hit, 7-2/3 shutout innings against the Red Sox on Aug. 7. Jorge also called the game at the Mets on June 27, when Burnett allowed four hits and struck out 10 in seven shutout innings.

The two have also hooked up in some miserable efforts, notably April 25 and Aug. 22 in Boston.

And while the chemistry between Posada and Burnett has been volatile at best, this much is for certain: It's not Posada's game calling that's at fault for those bad games. It's Burnett's inability to execute the pitches he throws that's at the heart of the problem. Once the pitcher and catcher agree on a sign, it's up to the pitcher and pitcher alone to execute the pitch.

But with Molina, Burnett has been much more consistent, appears more comfortable and seems to have a better rhythm. The numbers are stark and undeniable:

In 16 starts pitching to Posada, Burnett went 5-5 with a 4.96 ERA, striking out 79 of 434 batters. Hitters had a .270 batting average with .775 OPS.

In 11 starts pitching to Molina, however, Burnett went 5-2 with a 3.28 ERA, striking out 77 of 227 batters. Hitters had a .221 batting average with .658 OPS.

Perhaps that difference is because both Burnett and Posada are very emotional and more likely to clash, whereas Molina is calm and more willing to play psychologist. That's something for someone with a degree in psychology to figure out. Unfortunately, my degree is journalism, which means I know something about everything, but I don't know everything about any one subject ... and definitely not enough about psychology.

But if we've learned anything since the Yankees' last World Series championship in 2000, it's that the three most important things in the postseason are pitching, pitching, pitching ... and in that order.

That means Game 2 tonight is a huge game. A win puts the Yankees in control of the series. A loss makes the series a tossup and brings with it doubts about the Yankees' chances in the postseason.

Girardi needs Burnett, who will be making his first career playoff start, to be at his best and means he needs Burnett to be comfortable and confident in an electric environment at Yankees Stadium. And right now, Girardi believes the best way to accomplish that is to start Molina.

It's not a no-brainer decision by any means. It takes Posada's potent bat out of the lineup. It also forces the Yankees to carry Cervelli as a third catcher instead of Freddy Guzman as an extra pinch runner so that Girardi can use Posada as a pinch hitter for Molina early in this game, if necessary.

The move also isn't permanent. If Burnett bombs, Posada will catch his next game.

But in making this move, Girardi is clearly gambling.

And it's up to Burnett to make sure that gamble pay off.

Burnett will be the reason the Yankees win or lose, not Molina or Posada.

Erasing The Playoff Doubts

The apprehension was palpable.

CC Sabathia had just given up two runs in the third and doubt was starting to creep in. Was CC headed to another October letdown? Would Alex Rodriguez pull another postseason disappearing act? Were the Yankees headed to another playoff disappointment?

But with one big blast from Derek Jeter, all those doubts were all but erased.

Jeter tied the game with a two-run homer, Sabathia allowed two runs in 6-2/3 inning and A-Rod drove in two of the Yankees' five two-out runs in a 7-2 victory over the Twins Wednesday at Yankee Stadium to take Game 1 of this American League Division Series.

Now, let's not get too overhyped about winning one game in a playoff series. We've seen the Yankees take 1-0 leads before only to be eliminated in four game (2006 vs. Tigers). But, you have to like that we saw in this game so much of what has been missing in the recent past: terrific pitching, solid defense, a balanced attack and clutch hitting. Just importantly, it was a win that was so similar the types of victories the Yankees were racking up in the regular season.

Sabathia was strong from the start, striking out four of the first eight men he faced. He ended up allowing one earned run on eight hits, while striking out eight and throwing 71 of 113 pitches for strikes. He walked none.

Any concerns about him not being able to succeed in the postseason should be put to rest now. This was the type of start we saw from him throughout his dominant stretch in August and should go a long way toward proving that his postseason struggles from the last two years (1-3, 9.47 ERA, 2.32 WHIP) were more a result of an overly stressful regular season than any kind of October mental block.

But Sabathia ran into trouble in the third. After Denard Span grounded into a double play, Orlando Cabrera singled and MVP-candidate Joe Mauer doubled to put runners on second and third.

Michael Cuddyer singled to bring in Span and then Sabathia and Jorge Posada got crossed up, resulting in a passed ball that allowed Mauer to score, giving the Twins an early 2-0 lead and creating some doubt in the Yankee Universe.

But the Captain would quickly set that Universe ease.

With one out Melky Cabrera singled and went to second on a wild pitch from Twins starter Brian Duensing (4-2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 Ks). Jeter then turned on a 1-0, hanging slider and crushed over the wall in left to tie it at 2. It definitely wasn't a Jeterian shot, but it was quite reminiscent of some of his other big homers, such as his leadoff homer in the 2000 World Series against the Mets.

And like that, a weight seemed to lifted off the Yankees' shoulders. The team seemed to relax after that as the offense kicked into high gear.

The Yankees grabbed the lead in the fouth as Jorge Posada hit a one-out single and after Robinson Cano hit into a forceout, Nick Swisher crushed a double to bring in Cano, the first of the Yankees' five clutch two-out hits.

But what may prove to be the most important hit of the postseason came in the fifth as A-Rod finally awoke from his extended, painful postseason slumber.

Jeter led off with a walk and advanced to second on Johnny Damon's groundout. Mark Teixeira then popped out to bring A-Rod to the plate.

Since his third at-bat of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, it's been a rough stretch for A-Rod. In 61 at-bats he had all of eight hits (.131), hitting just one homer (2007 ALDS) and driving in just one run. In that span, he stranded 38 runs, going 0-for-29, struck out 19 times and went 0-for-12 in runners in scoring position.

This was a spot in which A-Rod desperately needed to come through just to show the world that his mind-set was right and that he was ready and primed to do big things this postseason.

He delivered, stroking the first pitch from Duensing, a 93 mph fastball, into left for a single to make it 4-2. Hideki Matsui then greated left reliever Francisco Liriano with a monster homer to center to give Sabathia and the Yankees a comfortable 6-2 lead.

But A-Rod would not settle at one big hit. It was as if he wanted to prove that the fifth-inning single was no fluke.

Jeter, who went 2-for-2 with three runs, led off the seventh with a walk and Damon then reached on an error. Teixeira, however, grounded into a double play, putting Jeter on third with two outs.

A-Rod then took an 0-and-1 curve from 6-foot-11 reliever Jon Rauch and blasted it off the wall in right for an RBI single to make it 7-2.

Joe Girardi then took advantage of the big lead to make sure to get Phil Hughes, Phil Coke , Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera a taste of this postseason as the Yankees closed out an easy win.

They get an off-day today and now get ready for a Game 2, which will very well could be the key to the series with A.J. Burnett making his first postseason start. A good outing by him will go a long way toward allowing the Yankees to take a commanding lead in the series.

Runners In Scoring Position
Game 1
3-for-8 (.375)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
ALDS Game 2
vs. Twins, Friday, 6:07 p.m., TBS
Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.03 ERA; vs. Yankees in 2009: 0-0, 4.70 ERA, 1 start)
vs.
Burnett (13-9, 4.04; vs. Twins in 2009: 1-0, 2.77 ERA, 2 starts)

It's The Twins

Our long wait is over and we finally know whom the Yankees will play in the American League Division Series that begins this evening.

For those who missed it, the Twins beat the Tigers 6-5 in 12 innings Tuesday in Minneapolis. It was a delightful, thoroughly enjoying and gripping game. I'm still wondering why Jim Leyland would send Fernando Rodney back out for a fourth inning of work. Is a tired closer really a better option than a less talented, but fresher arm in the bullpen?

But that and whether Brandon Inge was hit by a pitch are issues for the Tigers fans to debate and analyze.

It's onto the playoffs and the Yankees' quest for Championship No. 27.

Some quick facts about the Yankees and Twins:

The Yankees swept the regular season 7-0, posting a 3.27 ERA, .300 batting average and 10 homers. The Twins hit .232 with 10 homers and had 5.43 ERA, and had the injured Justin Morneau in each of those games.

In the four-game series at Yankee Stadium in May, the Yankees won three games by one run and the other by two runs. In addition, three of the victories were walkoff wins. Joe Girardi, in interviews with Mike Francesca on WFAN, has pointed to those games as having given Yankees the belief that they can always win any home game. The Yanks had 15 walkoff wins this season.

Against the Yankees, MVP-candidate Joe Mauer hit .345 with three homers and five RBI. Michael Cuddyer, however, hit just .148 with two homers and three RBI.

Carl Pavano was the Twins starter who had the best season against the Yankees, posting a 2.70 ERA in 13-1/3 innings in two starts, though both outing came starts came while a member of the Indians. Closer Joe Nathan blew a save opportunity in his only appearance against the Yankees three runs in two-thirds of an inning.

For the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez hit .286 with three homers and six RBI and Mark Teixeira hit .483 with four homers and 11 RBI. CC Sabathia won his only start against the Twins, allowing one run in seven innings and Mariano Rivera picked up two saves in four appearances against the Twins allowing no runs in 5-1/3 innings.

The last time the Yankees played the Twins in the playoffs was the 2004 ALDS, which the Yankees won 3-1. A-Rod hit .421 with a home and three RBI in that series.

Here's the rub, though: None of that matters.

In 2006, the Yankees had a 5-2 regular season against the wild card Tigers, but lost in the ALDS, 3-1. The Mets went 10-1 against the Dodgers in 1988 but lost the NLCS in seven games.

Any team in the playoffs is a good team, capable of beating any other. It all comes down to pitching, defense and executing in key hitting situations -- basically, who gets hot at the right time.

And while the Twins might arriving in New York for tonight's game tired after that 12-inning marathon and possible short in the bullpen after having used eight pitchers, any advantage will likely be short lived.

With a day off Thursday, the Twins will get a chance to rest and get back to full strength. In addition, that team is on a roll, going 17-4 in its last 21.

Nothing is going to be handed to the Yankees.

They are going to have to go out and earn it.

They'll need to get the big, timely hits.

They'll need to make the big plays in the field and avoid the big mistakes.

And most importantly, they need to get big pitching performances.

Ultimately, they will get all of that and take this series, 3-1.

Up Next
American League Division Series
Game 1
Wednesday, 6:07 p.m., TBS
Brian Duensing (5-2, 3.64 ERA; vs. Yankees: 0-0, 13.50 ERA in one relief appearance)
vs.
Sabathia (19-8, 3.37; vs. Twins: 1-0, 1.29 ERA in one start)