YANKEES V. ANGELS

Yesterday I broke down the NLCS, choosing the Dodgers in 7. That series begins tonight so we'll see how it goes, but it should be stellar either way. Friday night, barring a rain out, the ALCS is set to start with the Yankees facing their nemesis the Angels of Anaheim. Having defeated the Yanks the last two times they have met in the postseason ('02/'05), and after conquering their own nemesis in Boston, the Angels are looking to run over NY enroute to the World Series. These NY Yankees, however, aren't quite the same as those previous teams. This is a more talented and focused team that has gelled incredibly well as the season has gone on. Both teams swept their first round opponents, but who will move on? Let's break it down:

STARTING ROTATION:

The Angels have a deep rotation, with a bunch of mini aces headed up by John Lackey. He's got the post season chops and a ring, and he's ready for more. He'll be followed by Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, and Scott Kazmir. Saunders hasn't pitched in a while, and although he's done well at Yankee Stadium this year, it'll be interesting to see how he comes out of the gate. They also have Ervin Santana to back these guys up if anything happens.

The Yankees, again barring weather related postponements, will most likely go with the three-headed monster of Sabathia/Burnett/Pettitte for the whole series with CC pitching three times. Why not, really? He's supposed be the horse, and history shows he can do it, especially since he's already on extra rest now; he'd only be going on short rest once in Game Four. If they do get rain outs in there, Joe Giradi will most likely go with Chad Gaudin in Game Four as Joba seems to have solidified the bullpen, and why mess with that? Gaudin is OK, but he definitely brings down the quality a bit.

Advantage: Angels

BULLPEN:

While the variables of the weather may give the Angels the slight edge in starting pitching, it only helps the Yankees bullpen get stronger. This is as tough as bullpens get with the best closer in baseball history, Mariano Rivera, as their General. His set-up men are Phil Hughes and Chamberlain. Hughes was a bit shaky in the ALDS, but that just could've been jitters; he's been insanely good otherwise. The rest of the bullpen is pretty solid as well.

The Angels bullpen is OK at best, and has its moments as closer Brian Fuentes had with the Red Sox, but can these guys stand up to a team that is known for late inning comebacks? We'll soon find out.

Advantage: Yankees

CATCHER:

Mike Napoli isn't bad, but he's not on the level of Jorge Posada yet, and Posada's backup and most likely Game Two starter, Jose Molina, was an Angel himself which may provide a bit of an edge.

Advantage: Yankees

INFIELD:

The Angels boast a fast, solid infield with power at first in Kendry Morales, some combination of Maicer Iztutis, Erick Ayber, and Howie Kendrick manning the middle infield, and crafty Chone Figgins at third. Not bad at all right? Of course the Yankees only have one of the best infields EVER in Teixeira/Cano/Jeter/ARod! Not much more to say there.

Advantage: Yankees

OUTFIELD:

I believe the Angels win out here with an outstanding outfield led by Torii Hunter in center. He's flanked by Juan Rivera and Bobby Abreu, a man that's changed much of the free-swinging culture of the team. The Yankees outfield is good with the stick, but other than center field (Melky Cabrera), they lack defensively. Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher both had bad NLDS' and hope to bounce back, if not the Yanks could be in trouble.

Advantage: Angels

BENCH:

This is an interesting category as both teams have pretty good benches. The Yanks will carry two extra catchers, both of whom are good defensively, Jerry Hairston can play anywhere, and they have both Brett Gardner and Freddy Guzman as great speed weapons. The Angels also have speed weapons in Reggie Willets, Gary Matthews Jr., and one of the middle infielders. I'd have to say it's fairly even.

Advantage: Even

DH:

Hideki Matsui vs. Vlad Guerrero. A battle of honorable warriors. A battle of battle scarred veterans. They've had their ups and downs the last few years. In their prime, Vlad was probably better, but Godzilla has taken well to the DH role, and has had a wonderful season. In this ALCS they are an even threat.

Advantage: Even

MANAGER:

While Joe Giradi had much better results with his team than he did last year, he's now going up against one of the best in Mike Scioscia. The Angels skipper deploys NL sensibilities into an AL built line-up with fantastic results. Giradi has been much criticized on some of his moves, but has made it this far. If he can pass this next formidable test, then he'll go a long way up the ladder, but for now he's quite a few rungs down from Scioscia.

Advantage: Angels

So what we have here is a very even series as I split the categories 3-3-2. It definitely has potential to go the distance. The Angels have a lot of motivation, having conquered their Red Sox demons, and are also playing for their fallen teammate, Nick Adenhart. The aforementioned Bobby Abreu has really helped this team. He's a professional hitter that can do a lot of things. He's taught this whole team to be more patient and leads by example. I also expect their running game to be prolific, although the Yankee catching is better than the Sox. The Yankees, though, have had a tremendous amount of come from behind wins, so you can never count them out, and their main line-up is the best in baseball. If the weather doesn't mess with the schedule much, then they can run out their King Ghidorah Rotation, and their bullpen is ready to shut down the rest of the game. The Yanks also have home field advantage which they use better than any other team.

MY PREDICTION: The Yankees take a hard fought battle in seven.