The Ballyard

Angels/Yankees: a series made in baseball heaven

It’s a series that has everything: small ball and long balls … cliffhangers and blowouts … proven stars and trials-by-fire … umpiring gaffes so bad that the assignment rules for the World Series are being changed … and the spirit of a departed colleague in whose memory one team has dedicated its entire season.

There’s not much doubt that the Yankees are a better team, and it still says here that they will be the American League champion before all is said and done. But the Angels , perhaps still inspired by the early-season loss of pitching phenom Nick Adenhart, are playing gritty, never-say-die baseball that is terribly fun to watch and left me no doubt that they’d force a return to New York (see my article October 19).

Still, it’s unlikely that the Halos will sweep the remaining two games of the series and advance to face the Phillies in the tournament’s final round. The probable starters tomorrow are Andy Pettitte vs. Joe Saunders, and on Sunday, if we get that far, C.C. Sabathia vs. Jered Weaver. The nod here would seem to go to the Gothams in terms of track record and veteran experience, and if the new Yankee Stadium lives up to its reputation as a launching pad, the comparative depth of the Yankee lineup means that Los Angeles/Anaheim pitchers are likely to emerge more the worse for wear than their counterparts.

But don’t count the Angels out quite yet, for as has been famously noted about any short series, anything can happen (and probably will) – and that’s even without the presence of an actual departed Angel sitting on one team’s shoulders.

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