Metrodome Magic Can't Stop the Yankees

Ryan Fagan - SportingNews.com

What we learned from the New York Yankees' ALDS sweep of the Minnesota Twins:

1. Pavano should be proud. Of all the story lines swirling around in the Metrodome air conditioning Sunday, perhaps none was more intriguing than the one involving Twins right-hander Carl Pavano. He is the symbol of the bad decisions that plagued the Yankees through the middle of this decade. The four-year contract the Yankees gave Pavano resulted in more injuries than innings, more excuses than wins. Pavano, speaking to reporters Saturday, said it was "definitely a black period in my career, four years where I was just kind of treading water."

On Sunday, Pavano flashed, at times, the brilliance that inspired the contract offer. He struck out nine and allowed just five baserunners in seven innings. Of course, there were frustrating moments -- the two solo homers he allowed in the seventh -- similar to the ones that plagued him during his time in Yankee pinstripes. And in the end, his postseason ended the way all four of his years in New York did: much sooner than his team had hoped.

2. The Yankees own the Twins. In this case, regular season results were, apparently, a pretty good predictor of postseason success. The Yankees went 10-0 against the Twins this year, winning all seven contests during the regular season and sweeping the ALDS behind yet another come-from-behind victory Sunday in the final game at the Metrodome. And Alex Rodriguez, who hit three homers with six RBIs against the Twins in the regular season, popped two more long balls and drove in six more runs in the ALDS.

Of course, left-hander Andy Pettitte struggled in his lone start against the Twins in the regular season, giving up 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings, showing past results aren't a perfect indicator of the future.

3. New York is in for an ALCS test. The Angels have eliminated the Yankees the past two times the teams have met in the postseason. Mike Scioscia's crew knocked off the Yankees in 2002 and in 2005. This regular season, they split 10 games, though the Yankees did win three of the last four meetings.

How did the probable Game 1 starters fare this year? Yankees ace CC Sabathia was 0-2 with a 6.08 ERA against the Angels in 2009, and Angels ace John Lackey won his lone start against the Yankees with seven solid innings.

Ryan Fagan is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at rfagan@sportingnews.com.

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