As we sit just minutes from the start of the 2009 NLCS, tomorrow night's opening game of the ALCS features what many people believe are the two best teams in baseball - the Los Angeles Angels and the New York Yankees.
Weather permitting, the series gets underway tomorrow night in New York. C.C. Sabathia takes the mound against Angels righty John Lackey. Game two will pit A.J. Burnett and lefty Joe Saunders. When the series moves west to L.A., Yanks lefty Andy Pettitte will be opposed by Jered Weaver.
On paper this looks like a great match up. The Yankees have been the league's best team all season and the Angels have seemed to have the Bombers' number in recent years. For certain, the Angels are not intimidated by the Yankees. In fact, not much scares this team since they have overcome a tremendous amount of adversity throughout the year.
Still, the Yankees have the edge in almost every category but managerial experience. The Yankees front two starting pitchers are better, though the Angels boast a deeper rotation. The Yankee bullpen has been significantly better and the difference between Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and Angels stopper Brian Fuentes is astronomical. The Angels feature a potent lineup, but the Yankees are even better. Even the Yankees' bench is superior, with Brett Gardner and Jose Molina more useful than Jeff Mathis and Macier Izturis.
To boot, the Yankees start the series at home in front of their raucous home crowd. I wish the series would turn out like it says it should on paper, but I don't see it. The Yankees will pound Lackey and Saunders to take a 2-0 lead to L.A. where they will beat Weaver to go up 3-0. I see the Angels grabbing a game at home before the Yankees finish it off in front of 50,000 people holding thunder sticks and wondering what happened.
Yankees in 5
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