Finally! And CC for MVP?

With today's 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees clinched a berth for the playoffs. While we still don't know if it's wild card or division leader, the Yankees made things interesting down the stretch and finally put the final nail in the coffin of the regular season. Things have been ugly lately and it's good to get it out of the way and finally begin to look at the playoffs without glancing in the rearview mirror.

By the way, the general consensus is Felix Hernandez is the AL CY Young award winner. I think it's safe to say there's an argument for CC Sabathia for that award, but an even better argument as CC for MVP. There hasn't been one player more important to his team this year than CC Sabathia. With an erratic season of A.J. Burnett, the inconsistencies of Javier Vazquez, the learning curve of Phil Hughes, and the injury to Andy Pettitte, and all the spot starters in between, Sabathia has been the rock of the rotation, but also the team. He has 21 wins this season and has given the Yankees the opportunity to win everytime out. Anytime the Yankees have had a "must-win" or a game where the pitcher needs to save the bullpen, Sabathia has been dependable upon.

And today was another one of those days. The Yankees wanted to wrap up the division today, they didn't want things to linger around any longer, and he came through with 8 innings of two hit ball. CC Sabathia is the MVP of the American League, no question in my mind (which is extremely biased).

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State of the Yankees (It's Not Good)

Last week the Yankees went on an eight-game winning streak which saw them extend their AL East lead on the Tampa Bay Rays to 2.5 games. Then, the Orioles came to town and took two of three. Then the Yankees traveled to face the Texas Rangers. The bullpen blew the game the first night. Mariano Rivera had one of his three meltdowns he has all year and blow the second game. And Cliff Lee was Cliff Lee and the next thing you know the Yankees are dealing with their first three-game sweep of the season, lost six of their last seven, and enter a three game series with the Tampa Bay Rays who are just 1/2 a game back. The Yanks would be on a seven game losing streak if not for Nick Swisher's walk-off home run on Wednesday.

The rest of the Yankees schedule is against all AL East teams. They have just three games against the Orioles, who are the only team under .500 (and have been playing good baseball since Buck Showalter took over). Over the last seven days the Yankees as a team are batting .236/.337/.303 with one home run and 16 RBI. On the pitching side the last seven days, they have a 4.66 ERA have allowed 44 hits in 46.1 innings, while allowing 25 runs and striking out 36.

Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher are battling through injuries. A-Rod still needs to sit out about once a week. The only consistent pitcher the Yankees have in their rotation is CC Sabathia. If Andy Pettitte returns at the end of the week he is probably only good for about 80 pitches.

The Yankees are staring at a very possible scenario where they back into the playoffs in the wild card spot. The seven games they have left with the Rays are going to be playoff games because knowing the Yankees, they'd rather have the division crown than the wild card. But if they cannpt capitalize on these games against the Rays, you have to wonder, just how far can this team go into the postseason?

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Who do the Yankees want to face in ALDS?

Right now the Yankees are 2.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Rays are 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. So barring a Mets-like collapse that would end in me taking a long walk off a short bridge, the Yankees should make the playoffs. The only question now is whether they go in as the AL East Champ or the Wild Card.

I'm working under the assumption that the Twins will win the Central, and the Rangers win the West. Let's take a look at the scenarios:

If the Yankees win the AL East, and the Rays win the Wild Card:

• Yankees play the playoff team with the worst record, the Texas Rangers.
• Rays play Minnesota, with Minnesota having home field advantage.
• If Yankees advance to ALCS, they will have home field advantage, regardless of who they are playing.

If the Rays in the AL East and the Yankees win the Wild Card:

• Rays play the playoff team with the worst record, the Texas Rangers.
• Yankees play Minnesota, with Minnesota having home field advantage.
• If Yankees advance to ALCS, they will NOT have home field advantage, regardless of who they are playing.
  

So which is a better situation for the Yankees?

Twins:

• The Yankees won the season series 4-2
• Yankees outscored Twins 24-21.
• Likely playoff rotation: Baker, Liriano, Duensing, Slowey.
• Record since Aug 1: 25-11
  

Rangers:

• The Yankees lead season series 4-1 (with a 3-games to play, starting tonight)
• Yankees have outscored 27-16.
• Likely playoff rotation: Lee, Lewis, Wilson, Hunter.
• Record since Aug 1: 16-20
  

So this question might be easier to answer on Sunday after the 3 game set against the Rangers, but I'm asking now; who would you rather play?

Case for wanting to play the Twins:

1. You don't have to face Cliff Lee in a short series
2. Sweeping the Twins in the ALDS is an annual right of passage for the Yankees
3. Starting rotation is kind of weak.
4. Not a powerful lineup, especially if Justin Morneau doesn't return the season.

Case for wanting to play the Rangers:

1. They've struggled down the stretch.
   
2. Pitching staff behind Lee isn't anything special.
3. The away games are in Texas, where average early October temps are between 60-80, instead of Minnesota, where average early October temps are between 40-60.
4. Playing the Rangers means the Yankees finished strong, and have good momentum going into the playoffs, and will have home field advantage in both ALDS and ALCS.
   

So as the next three weeks of the baseball season wind down, these situations are going to be talked about a lot. Only time will tell which one comes to fruition.

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Yanks in 2010? World Series or SEE YA!

So we've gone through our predictions for the individual Yankees in 2010. Now we're going to take a look at how the standings will look at the end of the season.


National League
East:
Phillies 97-65
Braves 89-73
Mets 80-82
Marlins 79-83
Nationals 69-93

Central:
Cardinals 94-68
Cubs 87-75
Brewers 84-78
Astros 80-82
Pirates 66-96

West:
Dodgers 95-67
Giants (WILD CARD) 91-71
Rockies 90-72
Diamondbacks 81-81
Padres 70-92

AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST:
Yankees 101-61
Red Sox(Wild Card) 95-67
Orioles 86-76
Rays 85-77
Blue Jays 69-93

CENTRAL:
Twins 93-89
Tigers 91-71
White Sox 85-77
Indians 76-86
Royals 67-95

WEST:
Mariners 94-88
Rangers 88-74
Angels 82-80
A's 74-88

PLAYOFFS:
FIRST ROUND
Yankees over Twins (I'm thinking they sweep and clinch it on the frozen tundra of Target Field)
Red Sox over Mariners (Unless Papelbon blows it, again)
Phillies over Giants (Though Lincecum and Cain in a short series will be tough)
Dodgers over Cards (Setting up a rematch in the NLCS)

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Yankess over Red Sox (In 7 games, thus taking another 10 years off my life)
Dodgers over Phillies (In 6, because if it goes 7, I think Roy Halladay wills the Phillies to victory)

WORLD SERIES
Yankees over Dodgers
The Yanks will take home their 28th World Series title in 6 games, and Alex Rodriguez will take home MVP honors after channeling his inner Reggie Jackson and bombing 3 home runs in the clinching game. You heard it here first.

What do you think? Leave a comment and vote in the poll on the right.

(Props to @brmeyer for inspiring the headline)

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Bud Selig Stepping Down As Commish in 2012

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Bud Selig will step down as Commissioner of Major League Baseball after the 2012 season. The 75-year-old commissiner said he plans on staying on the job for three more years, which takes him into the next labor agreement in 2011, which would be his final act as commissioner.

Selig has been commissioner since 1992, and has done a lot to help the game of baseball, such as introducing the Wild Card. I think this was the best thing Selig did because it made the season more competitive and more teams a chance of winning the World Series. Some purists may disagree, but I grew up with the Wild Card so I can't see it any other way.

Interleague play, more revenue sharing, and a disciplined drug testing program are also some of the highlights of his career.

However, Selig reigned as Commissioner during some controversy. He was the man in charge under one of the biggest scandals in MLB history during the Steriod Era. He will always be criticized for not noticing the problem sooner and not doing anything about it until people started asking questions in the late 90's early 00's. He was also the Commissioner when the MLBPA went on strike in 1994, and for the first time since 1904 the World Series was cancelled. Finally, making the All-Star Game determine home-field advantage in the World Series has also came with some controversy.

Overall, there were many ups and downs in Selig's career, and perhaps how the media portrays him the remaining three years will be how we remember him.

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