When it comes to the MLB postseason, the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees are certainly no strangers to one another as they will be locking horns in the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) for the fourth time in the past eight years. Unfortunately for the team from the ‘Twin Cities’ not much of a rivalry has resulted from their frequent pairing with the Bronx Bombers.
In the previous three series, including last year’s best-of-five contest, the Yankees have owned the Twins, winning nine of eleven games on their way to unceremoniously ending Minnesota’s playoff run in three out of the last seven years.
However, when the first pitch is thrown at Target Field Wednesday evening this series will have an entirely different feel than those of 2003, 2004 and 2009 because, believe it or not, the Twins have a legitimate shot at dethroning the defending World Series Champions.
Since July 8, which is when Minnesota lost All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau for the season, the Twins won 48 of their remaining 74 games to run away with the American League Central while the bullpen continued to function efficiently without the services of All-Star closer Joe Nathan, who missed the entire 2010 season due to Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
During that same period, the Yankees barely finished above .500, going 41-36, and came up on the short end of the stick in the season-long struggle with the Tampa Bay Rays for American League East supremacy.
The bigger concern for New York, and the main reason the Twins have their best chance to advance past the ALDS for the first time since 1991, is a shaky Yankees’ starting rotation that boasts 21-game winner CC Sabathia and little worth writing home about beyond their ace.
With A.J. Burnett on the outside looking in due to a miserable season in which he went 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA, Yankees manager Joe Girardi has decided to go with an untested Phil Hughes, who has appeared in 11 postseason games in his career while posting an ERA of 5.25; including an 8.53 ERA in 6.1 innings of work last year.
Girardi’s three-man rotation also consists of grizzled veteran Andy Pettitte, whose postseason resumé is unequivocally beyond reproach in light of his MLB record 18 victories. However, the 38-year-old Pettitte was sidelined for two months this season with a groin injury and went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in his only two starts since mid-July.
So, realistically speaking, the Yankees are banking on Sabathia to be every bit as dominating as he was in last year’s postseason where he went 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA and 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA against the Twins in the ALDS.
Simultaneously, New York is hoping Andy Pettitte is fully recovered from his recent injury to continue his postseason brilliance and Phil Hughes quickly finds his legs in the first postseason starts of his young career.
Therefore, in this short series, it’s absolutely crucial the Yankees come away with a victory in Game 1, with their starting ace on the mound, to take the wind out of the sails of a Minnesota Twin team brimming with confidence and guarantee that Sabathia will start at least one more game in the series if Hughes and Pettitte don’t hold up their end of the bargain, which is a strong possibility given the preponderance of evidence.
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Game 1 of ALDS Presents Must-Win Situation for NY Yankees
