Twins/Yankees ALDS Thread

[Gil Dobie]

What you all say?

Twins break the jinx and beat the Yankees.

[Gil Dobie]

Twins starter are:
Game 1 Liriano
Game 2 Pavano
Game 3 Duensing
Game 4 Blackburn

Yankees?

[Gil Dobie]

Yankees
Game 1 Sabatthia
Game 2 Pettite
Game 3 Hughes

[Gil Dobie]

Justin Morneau probably won't be available for the ALDS, but if the Twins win, he could play in the ALCS.

[JoltinJoe]

Carl Pavano?

Pressure's on. The Twins are about to meet the real Carl Pavano.

[JoltinJoe]

Looking at the pitching matchups, the Yankees seem to have a great shot at another sweep. If this goes 4, Sabathia is a huge advantage in Game 4 vs. Blackburn at Yankee Stadium.

[andy7171]

I hope Jeter gets his period this week.

[JoltinJoe]

During his period, Jeter is a .383 career hitter, and he hits .452 with men in scoring position during his period, according to stats of the Elias Sports Bureau.

[Gil Dobie]

Looking at the pitching matchups, the Yankees seem to have a great shot at another sweep. If this goes 4, Sabathia is a huge advantage in Game 4 vs. Blackburn at Yankee Stadium.

Blackburn is 2-0 against the Yankees this year, Duensing and Liriano are both 0-1. All 6 games were prior to June 1st, Morneau was still healthy, and Danny Valencia had not been called up yet. Twins have added depth to their bullpen since the teams met. Should be a good series.

[clenz]

Oh Christ. I was excited for this series...then I realized it became impossible to ignore Joe without putting him on ignore.


Let me give you his playoff breakdown

Yankees sweep the Twins by about 30 runs.
Yankees sweep the Rays by about 30 runs.
Yankees sweep the Phillies by about 50 runs.

C.C. wins the Cy-Young unanimously, A-Rod wins playoff MVP, C.C. throws 2 no-hitters in the playoffs and wins WS MVP, Jeter hits .729 during the playoffs, A-Rod hits about 14 homeruns...as does Tex.

[JoltinJoe]

Looking at the pitching matchups, the Yankees seem to have a great shot at another sweep. If this goes 4, Sabathia is a huge advantage in Game 4 vs. Blackburn at Yankee Stadium.

Blackburn is 2-0 against the Yankees this year, Duensing and Liriano are both 0-1. All 6 games were prior to June 1st, Morneau was still healthy, and Danny Valencia had not been called up yet. Twins have added depth to their bullpen since the teams met. Should be a good series.

You can be a child-like homer, like clenz, or you can acknowledge that the Yankees have pitching advantages in every game in this series.

Sabathia is among the league's best and has proven to be capable of even stepping it up more in the post-season. He has carried a team to a World Series title pitching every start n three-days rest. Lirinao is very good but he is not Sabathia.

Pettitte also has a history of stepping it up in big games. On the other hand, Pavano shrinks in pressure.

Blackburn pitches to a mid-5 ERA and this is the guy going against Sabathia in Game at Yankee Stadium?

Then again, things don't always work out like they look like on paper.

[clenz]

IGNORE THE FACT PAVANO HAS BEEN GREAT ALL SEASON!

IGNORE THE FACT PETTITTE HAS SUCKED THE LAST 2 MONTHS!

PAVANO DIDN'T DO WELL FOR THE YANKEES A COUPLE SEASONS AGO SO HE WILL SUCK NOW!!!!!!!

IGNORE THE FACT THE TWINS HAVE THE BEST HOME RECORD IN THE AL...YANKEES TAKE GAME ONE BY 10

[JoltinJoe]

IGNORE THE FACT PAVANO HAS BEEN GREAT ALL SEASON!

IGNORE THE FACT PETTITTE HAS SUCKED THE LAST 2 MONTHS!

PAVANO DIDN'T DO WELL FOR THE YANKEES A COUPLE SEASONS AGO SO HE WILL SUCK NOW!!!!!!!

IGNORE THE FACT THE TWINS HAVE THE BEST HOME RECORD IN THE AL...YANKEES TAKE GAME ONE BY 10

Pavano is Pavano. My prediction is that he doesn't even pitch game 2, because he will come down with some bizarre injury -- perhaps he will cut the flesh under the nail of his index finger with the sharp edge of a shell while husking peanuts, and he won't be able to place any pressure on the ball with his index finger when he throws his curveball. That's ok for you, though. I'd hate to have to give the ball to a big skirt like Pavano in a meaningful game.

Newsflash: Pettitte hasn't sucked the last two months. He's been on the DL. Don't let the facts get in the way, though.

[Gil Dobie]

Blackburn is 2-0 against the Yankees this year, Duensing and Liriano are both 0-1. All 6 games were prior to June 1st, Morneau was still healthy, and Danny Valencia had not been called up yet. Twins have added depth to their bullpen since the teams met. Should be a good series.

You can be a child-like homer, like clenz, or you can acknowledge that the Yankees have pitching advantages in every game in this series.

Sabathia is among the league's best and has proven to be capable of even stepping it up more in the post-season. He has carried a team to a World Series title pitching every start n three-days rest. Lirinao is very good but he is not Sabathia.

Pettitte also has a history of stepping it up in big games. On the other hand, Pavano shrinks in pressure.

Blackburn pitches to a mid-5 ERA and this is the guy going against Sabathia in Game at Yankee Stadium?

Then again, things don't always work out like they look like on paper.

No Homer, I like both teams and hope the one that wins beats the National League in the World Series. As bad as Blackburn can be, he seems to have his best games against the Yankees. A-Rod and Jeter are not what they used to be, and in a short series you never know what can happen. The Twins new park is a tough one to hit the ball out of the park in, so the team with the better pitching and better hitting will have the advantage. I'm looking forward to some good baseball. I also think Jim Thome has had a big influence on the Twins this year on the field and in the clubhouse.

[andy7171]

And I hope he gets the menstrual cramps real hard!

[JoltinJoe]

Just makes him swing harder. Makes him more of a power threat.

[Gil Dobie]

Pioneer press reported this morning that Justin Morneau is out for the post-season.

[DJH]

I wouldn't say that NY has a big pitching advantage. Other than CC, every matchup would be a toss up IMO.

[JoltinJoe]

I wouldn't say that NY has a big pitching advantage. Other than CC, every matchup would be a toss up IMO.

I suspect if you asked major league managers to choose between Andy Pettitte or Carl Pavano for a post-season start, the vote in favor of Pettitte might be unanimous.

[GannonFan]

As great as it is that the Yanks lost homefield advantage, now in any series, I still have a hard time seeing them lose to the Twins. I'm not sure in the history of sport has one team, the Twins, ever been so owned by another team, the Yankees, in games that matter. I'll be rooting hard for the Twinkies, but unless they've suddenly grown a pair, it will probably be a short playoff stay once again. With that said, go Twins!!!!

[clenz]

As great as it is that the Yanks lost homefield advantage, now in any series, I still have a hard time seeing them lose to the Twins. I'm not sure in the history of sport has one team, the Twins, ever been so owned by another team, the Yankees, in games that matter. I'll be rooting hard for the Twinkies, but unless they've suddenly grown a pair, it will probably be a short playoff stay once again. With that said, go Twins!!!!

These aren't the same Twins as even last year.

Thome has completely changed the attitude of the locker room from some of the things I've read. I'll have to see if I can find an article I read last night and post it about the upcoming series and the shift of the Twins.

These Twins aren't built for power, but they are built perfectly for Target Field

[Willie]

Yankees in 6. But I'm not putting any money on them making the Series this year.

[bandl]

Yankees in 6. But I'm not putting any money on them making the Series this year.

Not really sure how this goes to 6 games....

[Willie]

Yankees in 6. But I'm not putting any money on them making the Series this year.

Not really sure how this goes to 6 games....

It's a prediction based off my opinion. That's how.

[Gil Dobie]

Not really sure how this goes to 6 games....

It's a prediction based off my opinion. That's how.

It's best of 5 series