Yankees and Angels to meet in ALCS

October 12, 11:28 AMMLB ExaminerAlex Brown

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the MLB Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

In baseball, as in life, some things change and some things stay the same.  This theory rang true in the two ALDS series’, as the Los Angeles Angels finally defeated their first round nemesis Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees continued their dominance over the Minnesota Twins.

The Angels struggles against the Red Sox in the postseason were well known heading into the 2009 playoffs.  The Red Sox had defeated the Angels in the ALDS in 2008, 2007, and 2004 – delivering such a beating in each series that the Angels managed to win only one game out of ten played.  This year however, things were different.  The Angels relied on clutch pitching from John Lackey and Jered Weaver, and timely hitting from outfielder Vladimir Guerrero.  The series sweep was especially nice for Lackey and Guerrero, as both have been with the Angels for all the playoff disappointments which came at the hands of the Red Sox. 

A reversal of playoff fortunes was not in the cards for the Twins however, as they were swept by the Yankees, a team who has had their playoff number.  2009 marks the third year that the Twins have been bounced by the Yanks in the ALDS – and at least in 2004 and 2003 they managed to steal the first game.  The Twins late season run is incredible, but you had to figure that they were no match for the revamped Yankees.

With the elimination of the Red Sox and Twins from the 2009 MLB playoffs, we’re left with no Yankees-Red Sox storylines and no mention of an incredible run by a red hot Twins team.  Instead, what we’ll see is a great series played by the two best, most deserving teams in the American League.