Davidoff: 7 reasons it'll be Yankees in 7
Photo credit: Getty Images | MAlex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees celebrates a win over the Minnesota Twins in Game Three of the ALDS. (October 11, 2009)
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Each of the past two American League Championship Series has lasted the maximum seven games and provided maximum excitement.
This one will, too.
Two different AL East teams, the Red Sox and then the Rays, survived those marathon series to represent the vastly superior league in the World Series.
We'll see a third AL East team in the 2009 Fall Classic.
Yes, the Yankees will outlast their nemeses, the Angels, in a seven-game extravaganza that will light up both coasts. The Steinbrenners' club will end a five-year drought and reach its first World Series since 2003.
Here's why:
1. Because they have the best player.
Alex Rodriguez probably didn't rank as the Yankees' most valuable player during the 2009 regular season, but everyone knew he possessed the most talent on the team, regardless of his admission of illegal performance-enhancing drug use.
We've seen that these last three games, haven't we? A-Rod hit so well against the Twins in the American League Division Series that he covered up the fact that most of his teammates didn't hit very well in the first round. The fact that he hit so poorly since the middle of the 2004 ALCS now feels like ancient history.
"Unless the Angels make a significant change in their approach to him, which is conceivable, you have to figure [Rodriguez] is going to continue to be productive," a scout from an AL team said, on the condition of anonymity. "I don't think you anticipate any problems from him, here on out. An 0-for-19 is probably a pretty unlikely scenario."
2. Because they have the best pitcher.
Look, at a certain level, this ain't rocket science. A-Rod, at $27.5 million per season, makes the most money of any player. And CC Sabathia, at $23 million per, does better on payday than any other pitcher.
Sabathia, who works hard for his money, could very well make three starts in this series: Friday's Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, Game 4 next Tuesday (on three days' rest) and Game 7 on Oct. 25 (on four days' rest).
Like A-Rod, Sabathia entered this postseason with questions lingering about his past October outings. The big lefty wiped away most of those concerns with a very strong Game 1 outing against the Twins last week.
"I think it's hard to say that he's not going to perform," the scout said.
3. Because they have home-field advantage.
Ordinarily, in baseball, this doesn't excite you very much. Yet these Yankees are 59-24, including the two playoff games, at their new home. Their hitters are eminently comfortable at the homer haven, and their pitchers have learned how to cope with it.
The Angels, meanwhile, have an impressive 51-32 mark at Angel Stadium, and they are 20-8 against the Yankees there since 2005. So the Yankees' extra home game shouldn't be dismissed as insignificant.
4. Because of "The Core."
Don't count us as subscribers to the belief that Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera possess some higher moral fiber that make them True Yankees.
However, they might have superpowers of some kind. How else do you explain that the 35-year-old Jeter, 37-year-old Pettitte, 38-year-old Posada and 39-year-old Rivera still being among the best at what they do, even though they all made their major-league debuts in 1995?
And sure, their extensive playoff experience can't hurt.
5. Because they have Jose Molina to catch A.J. Burnett.
Agreed, Burnett's results looked better than his process in Game 2 against the Twins. Yet perhaps Molina helped Burnett keep it together as Twin after Twin reached base without scoring. Burnett certainly seems to think so, as does Molina.
Furthermore, though Molina is an offensive sinkhole whom you wouldn't want starting every playoff contest, it will be interesting to have him as a deterrent against the Angels' aggressive running game.
"He's head and shoulders above Posada defensively," the scout said.
6. Because they have impressive roster depth.
When Posada starts, the Yankees don't have an easy out in their lineup. They have Brett Gardner to serve as a pinch runner and defensive replacement and, should Melky Cabrera suffer an injury or something, Gardner might even be an upgrade as a starting centerfielder.
When Molina starts, the Yankees can pinch hit for him with Posada, then pinch run for Posada and insert third catcher Francisco Cervelli, no slouch himself.
In the bullpen, Joe Girardi has so many palatable options that he arguably exhibited too quick a hook in the first round. In any case, Yankees fans should feel some measure of confidence when Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, Alfredo Aceves, David Robertson and, of course, Mariano Rivera, enter the game.
What do you get for the manager who has everything? Ask Girardi.
7. Because Barack Obama is the president of the United States.
And, as everyone probably already knows, the Yankees haven't gone all the way with a Republican in the White House since 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower presumably congratulated the Yankees on his Twitter account.
In the past 50 years, no team has won more titles than the Yankees' eight. Yet they have been timed so that Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes never presided over such a triumph. Instead, John Kennedy (1961-62), Jimmy Carter (1977-78) and Bill Clinton (1996, 1998-2000) called the shots.
Now, if you hate the Yankees, you'll probably read this column and shout, "You lie!" Yet if you've been watching the Yankees' games for about the last five months, you'll feel inclined to agree, no matter whether you live in a red state or blue state.
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