Yankees Heavy Favorites Again In Game Two

NFL News - October 9th, 2009 - Written by John

The second part of the New York Yankees $250 million pitching package will make his first career playoff start tonight, when the Yankees try to take their first 2-0 lead in 10 years.

A.J. Burnett will get the ball in hopes of leading New York to a commanding two-game lead that recent history shows is almost impossible to rebound from.

The last time they did it, they went on to sweep the Texas Rangers before winning the 1999 World Series. It was the meat in a championship sandwich in which the Bombers won three straight titles and four in five years. Since then, however, the Yankees have only gone to the Series twice, losing both times to wild card teams. Their struggles have forced general manager Brian Cashman to break the bank in search of a championship mix, missing on pitchers like Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano, Jose Contreras, and hitter Jason Giambi.

This year, however, he seems to have struck success, notching baseball's best regular season record and winning the AL East for the first time in three years.

New York is a big favorite to win their ninth straight over Minnesota this year, according to BetUS. They are giving up the typical 1 1/2 runs, but a moneyline payout is only returning -320. Taking the Twins, however, can be very rewarding with a win. They have a moneyline of +260, and taking them with the runs will sack a +125 payout.

Signing Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia has landed New York legitimate MVP and Cy Young candidates, while Burnett has been effective in his 33 starts. He is 13-9 with an ERA barely peaking over four and has struck out 195. Now he gets to prove himself on the only stage that matters in the Bronx. He was on the 2003 Florida Marlins team that beat the Yankees in the World Series, but didn't pitch because of an injured elbow.

“It’s been a long time and I finally get the chance,” Burnett said. “So I’m going to go as it as another start and to be a part of last night and to see the crowd and just to see how everybody reacted emotionally throughout the whole game was good to be a part of.”

A win would all but end the series for the Twins. All four division series' last year started 2-0, and the leading team eventually won all of them. But the Twins know a little something about recovery. They are already the first team in MLB history to win a division when trailing by three games with four to play. They swept the Royals on the final weekend to force a one-game playoff, in which they trailed twice late, and still beat the Tigers at home to extend the season.

Burnett has had success against the Twins this year, going 1-0 in two starts this year, and the Yankees haven't lost to Minnesota all year.

“That’s just a pretty good team,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I mean, I wish I had all the answers to say ‘Wow, this is why we lose here; this is why we don’t win.’ It’s not that simple. We have had our opportunities, we just haven’t come up with big hits.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/