The Weekend is Over

The apocalyptic weekend series between the Sox and the Yankees didn’t turn out to be as momentous as anticipated, mainly due to the collapse of the Indians. Both teams were able to celebrate playoff berths in MLB’s World Series tournament courtesy of the staggering Tribe.

So who wants to see Yankees – Red Sox III? Not I. I was having this discussion with my neighbor in the office, and I asserted that if you want to win a tournament, it’s best to take the path of least resistance, and to me, that means “not through Boston”. While the Sox aren’t the magical team they were last season, they seem to raise their level when it comes to dueling the Yanks. Also, I have no personal sense of avenging last year’s defeat. The goal is to win the World Series, not to avenge past disappointments.

From a fan perspective, I also have no desire to see the 2 teams in the ALCS. These series are just way too intense, especially as a Yankee fan in this locale. Of course, there is no guarantee that either team will advance to the championship round, but I think the Red Sox are in a good position. I’m not convinced that the White Sox are for real, and in fact I’ll go on record as saying that they are “frauds”. I don’t think their pitching can keep Boston in check for an entire series, especially when the ChiSox are starting Jose Contreras in Game 1 (yikes!).

As for the other series, I think this is much more of a dogfight. The Angels have played reasonably well down the stretch and you would have to say that New York is the hottest team in the AL at the moment. Yankee starters will need to go deep into the game to avoid one of the weaker bullpens in the playoffs (save Gordon and Rivera). The Angels have a strong bullpen, but can their starters get them to a point where the bullpen can finish off the game? It should be interesting. Mussina worries me. He looked very poor in his last start and I think Yankee fans are wondering if he is truly healthy.