Will A-Rod's clutch play continue? or is it time to throw in the towel? The ALCS begins tonight.
Written by: MJK
New York Yankees vs. Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles (AA of LA...how annoying is that?)
The Breakdown: Disciplined on-base machines.
The Lineup: Anaheim’s lineup mimics the annoyance of a small mosquito trapped inside your bedroom at night. You snuggle up under the covers, kill the lights, shut your eyes and suddenly you start smacking yourself in an attempt to kill that damn buzzing in your ear. Yea, its something like that. Anaheim has continuously proven it's effectiveness in manufacturing runs through their efforts on the bases with great team speed and a knack for the big hit. They say the fastest way from point A to point B is a straight line. The Angels oblige. Table setter Chone Figgins is a classic singles hitter with almost no power to speak of. He utilizes a slapstick approach that has proven very effective in recent years and when on base look for him to steal every time he has an open base in front him. Bobby Abreu and Tori Hunter are great hitters that will most certainly take advantage of clutch situational hitting to advance runners and drive in runs. Abreu and Hunter give this Angels team a core of poised veteran leaders that not only can work the count but also hit the occasional home run and look to steal a base more often than not. If there is one glaring weakness of this lineup it is its' inability to drive in runs via the home run. Even though chicks do (and always will) dig the long ball, Kendry Morales poses the only true threat to go deep on cue. If Anaheim wants to change this they will need Morales to continue his breakout 2009 campaign. Fan favorite Vladimir Guerrero is a shell of his former self. He is showing some signs of real age and looks like his knees are about to give in every time he runs the bases. Still, we all know how dangerous he can be if he can just find even a little bit of that stroke that every pitcher in baseball feared for so long. Manager Mike Scoscia has already commited to giving catcher Jeff Mathis a good amount of playing time this series. Mathis is a defensive stalwart behind the plate but offers nothing in the form of offense. I would like to see the Angels use Mike Napoli a bit more especially against a Yankees offense that the Angels may be trying to keep up with.
The Yankees offer almost the complete opposite in terms of offensive philosophy. Sure, they use the same level of plate discipline and veteran core that Anaheim does but New York wants to beat you with the long ball. Alex Rodriguez has (somewhat) shed his post-season demons by showing some clutch hitting of his own right in the divisional series versus the Twins. That being said, I will refrain from fully jumping on a “changed” A-Rod bandwagon, because the real pressure at bats are still to come. What I won’t refrain from is fully backing the potency of this lineup top to bottom. It offers everything a major league lineup could want. High on-base percentage, high average, lots of power and the ability to steal a base when in need. Angels pitchers will have to execute pitches to perfection for the duration of the series if they want to have a chance versus this explosive offense. Derek Jeter continues to prove just how important he is to his lineup. He has had yet another fantastic season and has really set the tempo at the top of this lineup. Mark Texeira has risen to every occasion in his debut season with the Yankees and he should be very excited about facing an Angels staff he has had very good success with in the past. It is very hard to find many (if any) holes in this lineup. It will be interesting to see how the big name big bats hold up as the pressure of the postseason mounts.
Given the Angels knack for scrappy and timely base hits, the decision is closer than one would think by looking at the teams on paper but it would be naïve of me to ignore just how good this Yankee lineup really is. I’ll take the Yankees here.
The Rotation: With both teams offering up deep and veteran lineups, the pitching staffs will look to manage games while attempting to keep pitch counts in check. This will prove to be very difficult on both sides of the series. Anaheim’s rotation has made up for its immense lack of overwhelming talent with effective and workhorse like outings that the team has been able to latch onto as an anchor for the better part of the season. The rotation for the ALCS should be four deep with John Lackey, Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, and Jered Weaver. The quartet has formed one of the more reliable staffs in all of baseball. All of them have the ability to go 7+ innings when effective and will look to slow down this Yankee offense with a steady diet of off-speed and breaking pitches that will help in keeping this lineup off balance. The series for the Angels will come down to how well this staff can hold up while facing the best lineup in all of baseball. Scott Kazmir has had a good amount of success against the Yankees in his career and John Lackey has held A-Rod under a .200 average when the two matchup against each other. Jered Weaver does not possess any sort of plus pitch but has done very well for himself this season in mixing pitches while really establishing a sense of control in what would seem to be his break out season.
The Yankees landed two prized pitchers this offseason in CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett solely for the purpose of making a deep run into the playoffs for years to come. Well here is their first true test at making this a reality. The Yankees will put their faith in a three-man rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, and Andy Pettite in this series. Sabathia and to a lesser extent Burnett make this rotation extremely top heavy with very little to offer on the back end. Sabathia has been as advertised in his first full season in pinstripes, but much like A-Rod still has a lot to prove in terms of post-season efficiency. Burnett has an array of lights out pitches that he uses to great effectiveness when he is locked in. The problem is, he loses his focus at times and in turn has a hard time regaining control, which ups his pitch count a great deal. He has been both dominant and extremely ineffective at different points of the season which is both exciting and troublesome all at once. Andy Pettite is a year older and does not offer the same mix of pitches that he used to in his younger days. However, he is the only member of this rotation that has won a championship and will use this experience to his advantage. He still has not lost his knack to be a smart and very controlled pitcher. If he can hit his spots he can prove to be just as effective as any pitcher in the series.
The Yankees paid big money to have this staff come together when the opportunity presented itself. Well, the opportunity is now. I just hesitate to pour an overwhelming amount of confidence into this rotation that is not nearly as deep as the Angels’. If CC can rise to the occasion in games 1 and 4 then it should be smooth sailing for New York. The Angels are a smart lineup that will adjust quickly and on the fly, something that I feel will exploit the disadvantages to having a 3-pitcher rotation in a 7 game series. I like the depth of the Angels staff here.
The Intangibles: The Angels come to play with the greatest intangible of all, heart. They have always played a style of baseball that showcases scrappy, hard working players who refuse to keep their jerseys clean. This season they have an additional reason to rise to the occasion. The Nick Adenhart tragedy has brought this team together in ways that few other locker rooms in any professional sport come to experience. They carry his jersey on the road, a locker still graces the clubhouse of the big A and the team truly seems inspired and empowered by the loss of one of their comrades. This story is important on so many levels and it is not to be over looked. Mike Scosica is a fantastic manager who knows how to take advantage of every situation. He has had to stress the little things this season and it has led to his Angels scoring the second most runs in the AL. Pretty impressive for a team that doesn’t rely on the home run.
The Yankees have a bullpen that has gone through some serious reform through out the course of the season. What once was a glaring weakness has now become an immediate strength. The relegation of super prospect Phil Hughes into he bullpen has really worked to the team’s advantage, as he has been electric down the stretch. Although the “Joba Rules” didn’t do Joba Chamberlain or the team any favors during the regular season, he is still possesses a live, exciting arm and is probably best served in a bullpen roll. Throw in the greatest closer of all time in Mariano Rivera and the Yankees should have no qualms about going to the bullpen early and often if they feel the need to. The weather in New York is calling for frigid temperatures and a good chance of rain. Regardless, it will be an atmosphere best suited for the home team as the Angels have been playing in near perfect southern California weather for quite some time now. While the storylines of the Angels are enticing, its hard to overlook the obvious advantages the Yankees have on multiple levels of this series.
The Pick: It's tough. It really is. I believe the Angels will work the count and get men on base any way possible as they usually do. But the Yankees have not slowed down at any point this season and offer a much more complete team top to bottom. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Angels pull this one out on heart alone, but I think the Yankees will power their way to the World Series. Yankees in 5.
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