tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

October Journey Begins Tonight: Are The Yanks Ready???

After going through 162 games, injuries to ARod and Derek Jeter, inconsistent starting pitching and a terrible season record against their blood rivals the choking Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees begin their journey to what they hope will be their 28th World Championship. Since the mid-to late 1990's, I have always been fired up for the playoffs because there was enough for me to believe that the Yanks could go all the way. However, this season I have no lofty expectations and that is because of one word: pitching.

Throughout the season I have harped on the fact that the Yankee starting pitching has not been good enough to win it all. As Game 1 approaches, nothing has happened to change my mind. That's why I tempered my expectations. Could the Yankees win the ALDS and ALCS? Yes. Could they win the World Series?? Yes. With their lineup and the bullpen trio of Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera, the Yankees certainly could win their 28th title. But the starting pitching will make it a struggle.

It may be a cliche to say that Game 1 is a big game in a 5 game series but the fact of the matter is that Game 1 is a HUGE game for the Yankees because their best pitcher is on the mound, CC Sabathia. Sabathia's assignment is to face the American League's best pitcher: Justin Verlander. Sabathia needs to hold down the Tigers long enough so that the Yankee lineup can wear down Verlander. In order to do that, we are going to need to see the CC prior to August 1st. The CC after August 1st will not be good enough. A Yankee loss tonight means that the season will be in the hands of rookie Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia.

The Yankee offense will need to bring their "A" game. Leaving multiple runners on base is not going to cut it particularly against a pitcher like Verlander. In fact, the combination of Verlander and Game 2 starter Doug Fister are 14-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 16 outings from August 16th. ARod, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixiera are going to have to step up and drive in runs. The Yankees are also going to need to utilize their speed and try to manufacture runs.

This series will not be a cakewalk. The Tigers were 20-6 for the month of September and riding a 4 game winning streak. If there is one silver lining it is that Verlander was roughed up in his last outing against Baltimore: 7 innings 8 hits 5 earned runs with 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and 120 pitches. The Yankees will need to wear Verlander down going deep in counts.

It all begins tonight. They have home field advantage which should help. But the Yankees will need to make good on scoring opportunities and CC Sabathia will need to match Verlander and give the Yankees some length. Many of the talking heads are not giving them much respect and hopefully they can build an "us against the world" mentality. The journey begins tonight. Hopefully, it will take us late into October and a ride down the Canyon Of Heroes.