AL Playoff Preview

Twins- Yankees
Yankees in 3. The Yankees are TBG's World Series pick. The Twins were his September darling. But it is October now and great pitching wins. Great pitching like C.C. Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes. Since becoming a reliever at the start of June, Hughes has posted monthly ERAs of 1.38, 0.61, 1.74 and 1.42. His ERA dropped from 5.45 to 3.04 during that span. The Twins do not have the lineup or the pitching to compete with the Yankees and fall quickly.

Red Sox- Angels
Interesting series. Expect it to go 5. Both teams feature solid starting pitching. Red Sox ace Josh Beckett is already a postseason legend, bursting onto the scene as a 23-year old stud pitching a World Series clinching complete game shutout in Yankee Stadium. In 2007 he was 4-0 with 1.20 ERA in 30 postseason innings. While his 2008 postseason was rough, 8.79 ERA in 14 1/3, look for him to dominate again. The Angels counter with another October ace in John Lackey. In 58 1/3 career playoff innings he's recorded a 3.39 ERA. The starting pitching in this series is a push while the bullpen advantage goes to the Sox. The Angels have a 1-9 incomparable in baseball, home field advantage and better average hitting. But better power pitching and power hitting along with table setters like Pedroia and Ellsbury win in October. Close series, but it'll be Yanks-Sox for the AL championship.

TBG