Monday, September 24, 2007

Why The Yankees Need To Win The East


Playoffs? No problem. First round? Big problem.

The Yankees, barring nuclear fallout, are going to the playoffs. As of now they have a 5 game lead in the wild card over the defending American League champion Detroit Tigers and 2 behind Boston in the East.

According to playoff rules, the wild card team plays the team with the best record in the league. If Boston holds off and is the top team in the AL, then the Yankees, if they win the wild card, cannot play Boston in the first round as two teams from the same division cannot face each other in the Division Series.
So then, the Red Sox would have to face the third best team in the majors, the Cleveland Indians, who already won their division.
That leaves the Yankees to play against the AL West champion Anaheim Angels.
This is the big problem.
The Angels are the only team to have a winning record against the Yankees since 1996.
In 2002, the Angels defeated the Yankees and went on to win the World Series.
In 2005, the Angels defeated the Yankees and went on to the Championship Series.
2007 seems likely that these two teams will play against each other again, and if history repeats itself, the Yankees will be sent home early. Anaheim has a 4-2 record over the Yankees this season.

If the Yankees pull of a 1978 comeback and win the East, then they will play Cleveland in the first round. This would be a much sweeter match up as the Yankees are a perfect 6-0 this season against the Tribe and a first round match up could send the Yankees to the Championship Series.

If Boston and New York end up in a tie, the Yankees would win the East as they have won the season series against Boston 10-8. No more one-game playoff, no Bucky Dent, just a title.

So, to recap; if New York wins the wild card, chances are they will face the Angels in the first round, best record or not.
If New York ties or goes ahead of Boston in the East, then they have a great chance of playing Cleveland in the first round.


IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY:

AL East: Boston Red Sox (playoff berth)
AL Central: Cleveland Indians (clinched)
AL West: Anaheim Angels (clinched)
Al Wild Card: New York Yankees

Yankees vs Angels
Red Sox vs Indians

NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Chicago Cubs (!)
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: San Diego Padres

Diamondbacks vs Cubs
Mets vs Padres

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BallHype: hype it up! Posted by Steve Kenul at 4:36 PM

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