Angels and Yankees ALCS Preview

The Angels shocked the Red Sox with a five-run rally in the final two innings of Game 3 of the ALDS on Sunday, sweeping Boston and moving on to face the New York Yankees in the best-of-seven American League championship series beginning on Friday.

The Yankees (103-59) and Angels (97-65) finished the regular season with the top two records in the major leagues. New York swept Minnesota 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs and the Angles have won 10 of their last 11 games, and finally defeated the Red Sox after three failures in five years and four overall.

Anaheim and New York have faced each other twice before in the playoffs, and the Angels have won each time—ALDS in 2002 and 2005. Yet somehow the odds Gods still have New York (+150) as the favorite to win the World Series over Anaheim (+500).

So how do these two teams stack up? Let’s take a look.

Both teams are relatively equal in terms of offense, however the offensive prowess from each club is accomplished in two dramatically different ways.

A younger and faster Anaheim tends to play small ball, placing their more potent hitters throughout the lineup and relying on good base running skills and speed. The Angels led the majors with a .285 batting average and finished second to the Yankees in runs with a club-record 883, and became the first team in major league history with 11 hitters who had at least 50 RBIs. The Angles were third in the league, with 148 stolen bases during the regular season and currently are second in the playoffs with three.

The older Yankees roster plays power ball, with much of their lineup swinging for the fences. New York led the majors during the regular season with 915 runs. They led the league in the regular season with 244 home runs and currently lead the playoffs with six. This works well for New York at home since Yankee Stadium is a hitter’s ballpark, but could pose problems when the series shifts to Anaheim. The Yankees do not have many players who can bunt the ball effectively and the speed of an aging team is definitely a concern.

New York has the clear bank-roll edge for pitching, and had a team ERA of 4.48 during the regular season, which was fifth best in the league. The Yankee starting pitching won 63 games, and lost 42. But outside starter of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte – who is tied with John Smoltz for the most postseason wins in major league history, who do the Yankees have that can perform on the big stage?

The Yankee relievers had a 1-0 record against the Twins, with a 1.80 ERA, 13 strikeouts, and a .341 batting average against in 10 innings. In the regular season, they had a 3.91 ERA with 483 strikeouts, and a .231 batting average against in 515 innings. Mew York also had veteran closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera had 44 saves in the regular season, with a 1.75 ERA, 72 Ks, and in four appearances against the Angels he has a 0.00 ERA.

The Angels had a team ERA of 4.44 during the regular season, which was fourth best in the league. The Angels starting pitching won 70 games, and lost 42. They have RHP John Lackey, who is coming off of a shutout against Boston and is pitching well beyond his 11-8, 3.83ERA, and 139K injury-shortened season. Then you have Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders rounding out one of the leagues most solid rotations.

The Angels have a much deeper bullpen that includes proverbial closer Brian Fuentes. The Angels relievers had a 1.08 ERA against the Red Sox, and four strike outs with a .174 batting average against in 6.1 innings. In the regular season they had a 4.49 ERA with 445 strikeouts, and a .270 average against in 483.1 innings, which was the second highest allowed in the American League. Fuentes had a high ERA for a closer during the year, but he did lead the league with 48 saves. In four games against the Yankees he has three saves and a 9.00 ERA.

All eyes will be on Alex Rodriguez who will be looking to put his playoff failures behind him and reach the World Series for the first time in his 16-year career. Rodriguez got off to a great start in the first round against Minnesota, going 5 for 11 (.455) with a pair of clutch homers and 6 RBIs.

The Angles Bobby Abreu has blended nicely into the Angels lineup. Abreu reached 100 RBIs and 30 steals for the fifth time and batted .354 with runners in scoring position. He has a .357 career postseason average, but the 35-year-old is hungry for his first championship ring. He hit .556 (5 for 9) with 2 doubles and 4 walks in the division series. He also scored 4 runs.

Current line for Game 1 of the ALCS is New York –1 ½ with an O/U of 8 ½.

John Lackey (1-0) expected to make the start in Game 1, against the Yankees C.C. Sabathia (1-0). Lackey is 5-7 lifetime in 16 starts against New York and pitched seven innings on July 12 in a 5-4 over the Yankees. Sabathia is also 5-7 in 14 starts against Anaheim with his last loss coming on the flipside of Lackey’s 5-4 win back in July.

Matt Martz is a sports writer for the Bakersfield Californian located in Central California. Blessed is the gambler who expects nothing, for ye shall not be disappointed.