Evil Empire
- Wade
The New York Yankees get into town today for a three game set against the Twins.
(Cue that Darth Vader music.)
(Okay, stop.)
Yes, these are the same Yankees that have beat the Twins in 16 of their last 17 meetings, including a 3-1 drubbing in last fall's ALDS. These are also the same Yankees that thumb their nose at baseball's attempts at economic reform, although I am taken aback that Randy Johnson isn't part of their rotation right now.
Speaking of rotation, the Bombers' starters look different than they did last year. Replacing Clemens, Pettitte, and Wells with Vazquez, Brown, and Lieber is a slight downgrade, but it won't be like they're trotting out the back half of the Devil Rays' staff. Losing Soriano hurt, but replacing him with A-Rod (and oh, by the way, Gary Sheffield) helped, um, soften the blow.
My belabored point: the 2004 Yanks may look different, but they're still the best team in baseball. Even Cardinal fans would admit that.
The Twins have looked, well, fine this year. The starting pitching has been good, usually not so good. (That we're giving Terry "old as hell" Mullholland regular turns in the rotation speaks to our desperation.) The bullpen has been very solid, provided that the name of the player has been Rincon or Nathan. The hitters... well... it sure is nice to have Justin Morneau in the lineup.
Face it, friends: the Twins have been scrapping of late. They're 3-7 in their last 10 and have been steadily losing ground to Cleveland. We've ditched the White Sox, but that's more thanks to Kenny Williams than anything our team did. So, this series is huge. Win 2 of 3 and we send a message to the A.L. Central that we're not swooning, and maybe restore some confidence in our hitters. Lose 2 of 3 (or worse) shows the Tribe that we're as vulnerable as people say we are, and perhaps lose the lead in the division.
Regardless, this will be a great series to watch. And a win-win for the Twins-- if we take the series, great. If not, it's that damn Steinbrenner. :)
Go Blanco!
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