THE Twins are no longer just happy to be here. This is their third trip to the ALDS, having won one and lost one.
Arguably, they have the best starter in the AL. Their bullpen is strong and they don’t beat themselves.
The Yankees?
They won 101 games and heard questions about a suspect rotation from the first day of spring training. By now their pitching is what it is. Now, it’s up to the lineup to hammer Twins pitching.
Here is a closer look at the Twins-Yankees ALDS, which begins tonight at the Stadium.
CATCHER
Rookie Joe Mauer was supposed to be here, but injuries have turned the job over to Henry Blanco and Pat Borders. Jorge Posada is better than both of them by a large margin.
EDGE: YANKEES
FIRST BASE
Justin Morneau provides scary power from the left side and should like Yankee Stadium’s right-field porch. Defensively, he isn’t in John Olerud’s class, but who is? Olerud filled a huge gap when Jason Giambi went down. Tightened up the defense but doesn’t provide the power you would like from a corner infielder.
EDGE: EVEN
SECOND BASE
Luis Rivas was the regular until an elbow problem moved Michael Cuddyer into the spot. Miguel Cairo’s contribution to the Yankees’ offense was huge and largely unnoticed.
EDGE: YANKEES
SHORTSTOP
Cristian Guzman is a very good player who handles the bat well and is capable of the sensational play in the field. He was traded to the Twins from the Yankees because of what he isn’t: Derek Jeter. October is Jeter’s time of the year.
EDGE: YANKEES
THIRD BASE
Corey Koskie supplies solid defense and is a tough out. Alex Rodriguez was acquired to dominate in October and all eyes will be on A-Rod to see if he can deliver.
EDGE: YANKEES
LEFT FIELD
Shannon Stewart was slowed at the end of the season by a hamstring problem, but he is the catalyst to the Twins’ lineup from the leadoff spot. Poor throwing arm can be exploited. Hideki Matsui is the Yankees’ most consistent player.
EDGE: YANKEES
CENTER FIELD
Nobody is better than Torii Hunter tracking balls and he is an aboveaverage hitter in all aspects. Bernie Williams can’t compare defensively to Hunter, but Williams usually excels in the first two rounds of the playoffs at the plate.
EDGE: TWINS
RIGHT FIELD
Jacque Jones is a streaky hitter who thrives on mistake pitches and is solid defensively. But he’s nowhere close to Gary Sheffield, an AL MVP candidate who was the Yankees’ best clutch player this season.
EDGE: YANKEES
DESIGNATED HITTER
Lew Ford is a pesky hitter and a tough out, but isn’t a prototypical power hitter. Ruben Sierra gives Joe Torre a threat from both sides of the plate. So does Williams, if Torre starts Kenny Lofton in center.
EDGE: YANKEES
STARTING ROTATION
Johan Santana and Brad Radke give the Twins the edge in the first two slots over Mike Mussina and Jon Lieber. After that, it gets murky on both sides.
EDGE: TWINS
BULLPEN
Joe Nathan and Juan Rincon are every bit as good as Mariano Rivera and Tom Gordon when it comes to success this year. However, Rivera and Gordon have more experience in the postseason and that counts heavily.
EDGE: YANKEES
BENCH
Matthew LeCroy is a right-handed power hitter who is very good against lefties, but the Yankees have just one in the bullpen. Rivas is a regular player nursing an injury. The depth of the Yankees’ bench contributed throughout the
season with Tony Clark the leader. Sierra is a big threat off the bench. Lofton and Bubba Crosby give Torre speed.
EDGE: YANKEES
MANAGER
Ron Gardenhire or Texas’ Buck Showalter will be the AL Manager of the Year but there is no beating Torre’s October experience.
EDGE: YANKEES
PREDICTION
The Twins are good and have a big chance to win. However, it’s October, three of the five games are at Yankee Stadium, and can you honestly say something quirky won’t happen to help the Yankees?
YANKEES IN FIVE
—
COMPARING STATS
POSITION .AVG HR RBIs
CATCHER
Posada .272 21 81
Blanco .206 10 37
FIRST BASE
Olerud .259 9 48
Morneau .271 19 58
SECOND BASE
Cairo .292 6 42
Cuddyer .263 12 45
SHORTSTOP
Jeter .292 23 78
Guzman .274 8 46
THIRD BASE
Rodriguez .286 36 106
Koskie .251 25 71
LEFT FIELD
Matsui .298 31 108
Stewart .304 11 47
CENTER FIELD
Williams .262 22 70
Hunter .271 23 81
RIGHT FIELD
Sheffield .290 36 121
Jones .254 24 80
DESIGNATED HITTER
Sierra .244 17 65
Ford .299 15 72
YANKEE STARTERS
W-L ERA SO
Mussina 12-9 4.59 132
Lieber 14-8 4.33 102
Hernandez 8-2 3.30 84
Vazquez 14-10 4.91 150
Brown 10-6 4.09 83
TWINS STARTERS
W-L ERA SO
Santana 20-6 2.61 265
Radke 11-8 3.48 143
Silva 14-8 4.21 76
Lohse 9-13 5.34 111
YANKEE RELIEVERS
W-L ERA SO
Rivera 4-2 1.94 66
Gordon 9-4 2.21 96
Quantrill 7-3 4.72 37
Sturtze 6-2 5.47 56
Heredia 1-1 6.28 25
TWINS RELIEVERS
W-L ERA SO
Nathan 1-2 1.62 89
Rincon 11-6 2.63 106
Romero 7-4 3.51 69
Fultz 3-3 5.04 37
Roa 2-3 4.50 47
CHECK IT OUT
POSITION – YANKS – TWINS
CATCHER
FIRST BASE
SECOND BASE
SHORTSTOP
THIRD BASE
LEFT FIELD
CENTER FIELD
RIGHT FIELD
DH
STARTERS
BULLPEN
BENCH
MANAGER
