By Morgan Dunn
Here is how I see the playoffs shaking out in the American League.
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins: This is the battle of opposite payrolls. The Yankees shelled out a king's ransom last offseason and the Twins don't have a very high payroll at all. The Yankees are looking like the best team in baseball and have to be the favorite to win the World Series. With CC Sabathia starting Game 1, the Yanks will have a true ace on the mound, while the Twins don't have several of their top pitchers healthy. The Yankees have one of the most potent lineups in the history of the game, one dotted with All-Stars, and the Twins have Joe Mauer.
Well, they've got more than just him, but he's unquestionably the best hitter in their lineup with Justin Morneau out. It seems like the Yankees should be a huge favorite based on talent alone, but the Twins have been hot down the stretch. They overcame an almost insurmountable lead to win the American League Central division and could just be the team that got hot at the right time. I still think the Yanks will have just too much firepower for the Twins to deal with. Prediction: New York in four.
Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels: The Angels' pitching seems to be rounding into form at the right time, but so does Boston's. The Angels have a good front end of the rotation with John Lackey and Scott Kazmir heading things up. Lackey came on at the end of the regular season, for the most part, and Kazmir seemed to figure some things out once he came over from Tampa Bay in a trade. The Red Sox pitching is deeper, though, as they've got Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Dice-K and Clay Buckholtz. The Red Sox have a more potent lineup, as well, but not by much. The Angels should use their speed to give the Sox fits on the base paths, but the Red Sox have had the Halos' number as of late and I think there's a good chance that that trend continues. Prediction: Boston in five.
ALCS
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: These will be the most in-demand MLB tickets at http://www.stubhub.com/mlb-tickets of the season if this series arises, the Yanks and the BoSox back in the ALCS yet again. These two teams have had some real battles in the past. Who can forget the recent history of Aaron Boone or the Boston comeback? There's a ton of bad blood between these two teams and both clubs would want this series badly.
The Yankees have dominated the Sox in the second half of the season, though, and would have home-field advantage. The Yankees might concede the better starting rotation to the Sox, but they've got the better set-up/closer combination, which goes a long way. New York also has the better lineup. This would be a great series if it was to happen, but I'd expect the Yankees to come out on top. Prediction: New York in six.
StubHub has sponsored this article, which was written by Morgan C. Dunn. Stubhub.com is one of the leaders in the business of selling MLB tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets, or even special events tickets.
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