Angels Vs. Yankees – Who Has What Edge?
How do the Angels compare against the Yankees this season – in terms of personnel and performance? Well, here’s my opinion…based on part-stats and part-feel…providing grades on a scale of one to ten…with ten being the highest grade possible…
OVERALL Angels Yankees Offensive Production: 8.5 10 Offensive Production vs. RHP: 8.5 10 Offensive Production vs. LHP: 7 10 Pitching Production: 4 6 Starting Pitching Production: 4 6 Bullpen Production: 3 6 Pitching Production vs. RHB: 7 6 Pitching Production vs. LHB: 2 10 Defensive Production: 5 7 Play @ Home: 7 10 Play on the Road: 10 9 Play in Close Games: 9 8
It’s somewhat close here with the exceptions being that the Angels don’t hit left-handed pitching as well as they do right-handed pitching, the Angels bullpen is weak, and the Angels pitchers have issues with left-handed batters. So, the Yankees should be sitting pretty in this ALCS…providing Sabathia and Pettitte are on their game and the Yankees batters can get the Angels starters out of these games quickly. Oh, and, Cano, Damon, Matsui, Teixeira, Posada and Swisher better get some good swings in from the left-side…
I hope Matsui has a big series- I think A-Rod is going to be pitched around and we need him to take advantage. Damon getting started would be nice too.
One thing to note: A-Rod, in the regular season, hits at a 60-HR season pace, when playing in the Angels home park, over his career. Granted, that didn’t help him in the 2005 ALDS…
Not sure if you have seen this:
AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 16, 7:37 p.m. ET
Angels (John Lackey) at Yankees (CC Sabathia)
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 17, 7:37 p.m. ET
Angels (Jered Weaver) at Yankees (A.J. Burnett)
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 19, TBA
Yankees (Andy Pettitte) at Angels (Scott Kazmir)
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 20, TBA
Yankees at Angels
Game 5: Thursday, Oct. 22, TBA
Yankees at Angels (if necessary)
Game 6: Saturday, Oct. 24, TBA
Angels at Yankees (if necessary)
Game 7: Sunday, Oct. 25, TBA
Angels at Yankees (if necessary)
Play in Close Games: 9 8
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Not sure I understand how, after watching all the walk offs thing year, the Yankees get only an 8…I would have put them at 10, while leaving the Angels at 9.
@ Corey:Check the overall ranks in the A.L. this season for the Yanks and Angels in terms of their record in one-run games.
Steve Lombardi wrote:
Steve…Isn’t that number a LITTLE misleading though. The Angels winning percentage in one run games is .600 (27-18). The Yankees in one run games have a winning percentage of .579 (22-16), but three of their walk-off wins ended up with a final score where the Yankees won by more than one run, and including those three wins give them a winning percentage of .610.
Did the Angels have any walk-offs this year that resulted in them winning by more than one run? I’m not sure if they did, but just one would basically even the winning percentage with the Yankees.
Adding those into the mix is a little more involved than just going by one-run games, but MAYBE it’s valuable? Regardless, I think both teams have proven they’re pretty evenly matched when comparing their ability to win close games.