Don’t you just love the Major League Baseball postseason? Every pitch matters, every decision gets drawn out, every game seems to last well past your bedtime.
Wait, you mean it hasn’t started yet, and the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays aren’t yet in a playoff series?
Could’ve fooled us.
Even though there are a couple weeks left until October, it sure feels like the postseason when the Yankees and Rays take the field against one another, as they will in New York through Thursday. In fact, the American League Championship Series might as well already be underway.
After all, what do the Central Division-leading Minnesota Twins have to offer? You can have Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Target Field, and we’ll raise you Yankee Stadium and three playoff series wins in a row for the team in pinstripes (2009, 2004, 2003) over the Twins, including last year’s three-game sweep. The same goes for the AL West-leading Rangers, even if Josh Hamilton gets healthy and Cliff Lee gets hot. The two American East representatives are both better top to bottom.
And technically, they’re still locked in a battle for the East division title, but the players know that playoff momentum is what’s really at stake. One run was the difference in all three of their meetings last week in Florida — including a 1-0 pitching-duel between David Price and CC Sabathia that will have its sequel in the two teams’ final regular-season clash on Thursday.
Officially, the pennant won’t be on the line.
