SPANISH HARLEM – For New York Yankees fans, the postseason begins tomorrow. Granted, two Wild Card games were played but they were merely curtain-raisers.
The Yanks no longer to worry to worry about who they will play next… that team will be the Minnesota Twins. And that has many Bombers’ fans giddy as we’ve generally dominated Minnesota for a long time – in the regular season and playoffs. But these are not the Twins of yesteryear.
The Minnesota Twins led the league in home runs, and while the Yankees were not too far behind (one home run to be exact), this bodes as a series based on power. If you watched any of their regular season games, you know that both the Twinkies and Yanks have won their games by producing runs mostly via the long ball. It was like watching the home run derby but during an actual game. For me, it was truly fun to watch but the playoffs bring a different environment all together. Tensions are high and there will be a lot of nervous energy from each team and that will affect some players… it always does.
Pitching matters the most in the postseason and my guess is that won’t change. The Yankees will need their starting pitchers to avoid giving up big leads early. Aaron Boone will not hesitate to use his bullpen, but he will expect some length from his starters. One or two innings will not cut it. At the very least, he will want his starters to go 4 or 5 innings. That will allow him to use his bullpen more effectively.
James Paxton will start game one and for past month or so, he has been one of the best pitchers in the American League. Considering the ups-and-downs he had to begin the season, many fans are happy to see him pitching his best baseball at this time of the year. It will be important for Paxton to minimize the damage that the Twins lineup can do. That means limiting the amount of balls that go out of the yard. If he can keep them off-balance and allow the Yanks to take the lead… maybe just maybe, those fears of domination will creep back in.
It won’t be easy, this Twins team can really hit and though their starting pitching lacks depth, they can produce runs in bunches. It will be up to the Yanks to limit the damage but that’s easier said than done. Minny has a lot of power in that lineup, so I don’t believe they will get shut down. But that’s where some timely hitting and good defense will help. Score as much as possible and don’t give their lineup extra opportunities. Do that and the Yankees should win.
Speaking of winners, come back tomorrow for Different Matt. In the meantime, feel free to comment below.
