OFFENSE
Yankees
Chuck Knoblauch 2B
Derek Jeter SS
Paul O’Neill RF
Bernie Williams CF
Tino Martinez 1B
Chili Davis or Tim Raines DH
Darryl Strawberry LF
Jorge Posada C
Scott Brosius 3B
Rangers
Tom Goodwin CF
Mark McLemore 2B
Will Clark 1B
Juan Gonzalez RF
Rusty Greer LF
Pudge Rodriguez C
Lee Stevens or Mike Simms DH
Todd Zeile 3B
Royce Clayton SS
The #1 and #2 teams in runs scored in the AL meet in a best-of-five. The
Yankees have fewer holes in the lineup, although look for Joe Girardi to get at
least one more start than he deserves, hampering its effectiveness; the Yanks
get the nod here for completeness (no Clayton, Goodwin or McLemore; the latter
two in particular have reverted to their proven mediocrity after strong
starts). However, Joe Torre seems intent on giving Texas a shot, naming Andy
Pettitte to start game two over David Cone or Orlando Hernandez. Check this
out:
Texas vs. LHP: .316/.379/.506 Texas vs. RHP: .278/.349/.445
While Texas does have some good left-handed production in Will Clark
and Rusty Greer, they have really smacked left-handed pitching around
for a few years now. To go with a struggling Andy Pettitte over David
Cone is a bit inexplicable to me, and could really backfire if the Rangers
pull out the first game.
Overall, the Yankees have the better lineup, but both teams can put runs
on the board.
DEFENSE
A mixed bag for both teams. Texas’ midseason trade brought them Royce
Clayton, an excellent shortstop, and Todd Zeile, a notional third baseman.
Featuring Clayton, along with Ivan Rodriguez and Tom Goodwin, the Rangers have
a strong interior defense. Juan Gonzalez is not an asset, however, and Will
Clark has been worn down the last few years. Goodwin’s arm can be run
on all day.
The Yankees have some overrated defenders in Derek Jeter, Paul O’Neill
and Tino Martinez. However, Scott Brosius is a very good third baseman
and Jorge Posada has an excellent arm (although he blocks the plate
even worse than Girardi, if that’s possible). Overall, the teams’
defenses are a wash.
STARTING PITCHING
Yankees
David Cone
Andy Pettitte
Jumbo Wells
Orlando Hernandez
Rangers
Todd Stottlemyre
Rick Helling
Aaron Sele
John Burkett or Esteban Loaiza
There’s been plenty of ink and oxygen wasted on the "resurgence" of the
Texas rotation, primarily thanks to their sterling performance (25 IP,
2 ER) against the Angels in the last week of the season. But this is
really the Rangers’ soft spot. Stottlemyre is hitting his stride, but
Rick Helling and Aaron Sele, despite good Septembers, are way past their
previous career-high workloads and were ridden hard down the stretch. Not to
mention that they really haven’t been all that special to start with. John
Burkett shouldn’t be starting.
The Yankees’ big advantage all season has been their rotation depth,
something that, again, loses its luster in a best-of-five. They don’t
have a Pedro Martinez or Randy Johnson, a pitcher who you fear facing
twice in five games, but they do expect a quality outing each game.
Solid advantage here for the Yankees, with the caveat that all it takes
is a few bad innings to give it away.
BULLPEN
Yankees
Mariano Rivera
Ramiro Mendoza
Hideki Irabu
Jeff Nelson
Graeme Lloyd
Mike Stanton
Rangers
John Wetteland
Tim Crabtree
Xavier Hernandez
Danny Patterson
Eric Gunderson
Greg Cadaret
Two years ago, the Yankees beat the Rangers in the Division Series on
the strength of their middle relief, while beating up on the Mike
Hennemans and Ed Vosbergs the Rangers were dragged in with them. If this series
is decided in the middle innings, the Yankees will again have a
clear advantage, as they bolster a solid pen with rotation leftover
Hideki Irabu. The Rangers have upgraded their relief, and the
underrated Tim Crabtree was very effective down the stretch, but
this is not where Texas can count on winning games.
BENCH
Yankees
Tim Raines or Chili Davis (whoever isn’t starting), Chad Curtis, Shane Spencer,
Joe Girardi, Luis Sojo, Homer Bush
Rangers
Mike Simms or Lee Stevens (again, whoever isn’t starting), Luis Alicea, Roberto
Kelly, Bill Haselman, Domingo Cedeno
As we pointed out a few weeks back, Texas’ bench has been a relatively
unheralded key to the team’s success. In fact, they’re one of the few teams
with stronger bench than the Yankees, who have chosen to populate the dugout
with Joe Girardi and Luis Sojo (Homer Bush, a frequent target of abuse,
is actually well-suited to his pinch-runner/blowout caddy role, making him a
relative asset.)
That said, in a short series in a DH league, bench strength is not a
very large factor. Aside from each team’s DH platoon, don’t expect
Johnny Oates or Torre to make many in-game moves.
OVERALL
Predicting a best-of-five series is folly. The Yankees should win,
but throwing two lefties to start the series gives Texas a better
chance than you’d expect. I’m going to stick with Yankees in three,
because I think the games will be high-scoring and won with the bullpens,
but I’d like to be more confident in the prediction.
Thank you for reading
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