No matter which team you are hoping wins and becomes the Yankees’ ALCS foe, it bodes well for the Yankees that this series went the distance.

As for the Yankees’ ALCS starters, the first three games of the series are easy to forecast. CC Sabathia will start Game 1, followed by Andy Pettitte in Game 2 and Phil Hughes in Game 3. When it comes to the Game 4 starter, Joe Girardi needs to take a fluid approach. If the Yankees are leading the series 3-0, then I would let AJ Burnett start Game 4. In every other series scenario (up 2-1, down 1-2 or down 0-3), the ball needs to be given to CC Sabathia. Period.

After Game 4, I don’t think the Yankees will go to Andy Pettitte on three days’ rest for Game 5. Game 5 is when we’ll most likely see AJ Burnett. Pettitte slides into Game 6 on full rest, and I would expect Sabathia to go in Game 7 on three days’ rest again.

No matter how the rotation is set, if the Yankees’ top three starters pitch in the ALCS the way they did in the ALDS, they are going to be very hard to beat.

Hughes retired the first nine batters he faced.  By the time the Twins had their first hit, the Yankees had a 2-0 lead.  But it was the fourth inning that may have broken the Twins fragile backs.  Needing a shutdown inning from starter Brian Duensing, the Twins got the exact opposite.  Marcus Thames hit a monster two-run home run that seemed to take the wind right out of the their sails.  The Yankees added another run, but failed to blow the doors off the game.

This may have been where the Twins could have found some sort of momentum.  Perhaps battling the long layoff, Hughes got into a bit of a jam in the top of the fifth, but he made quality pitches and turned the Twins away, seemingly closing the door and casting them out into the cool October night.  The Twins managed to threaten once more against Hughes, but the fire-balling righthander again met the challenge.

When Nick Swisher hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, he seemed to have touched off the celebration in the Bronx, but there was still some demoralizing of the Twins to be done.  When Kerry Wood faltered in the eighth, it took Boone Logan and David Robertson to shut the door on a bases loaded jam that was the Twins real last chance for survival.  Yankee pitching was nothing short of stellar when the Twins had runners in scoring position, only yielding two hits throughout the series.  Only one of those hits resulted in a run.

On the other side, the Yankees did hit with runners in scoring position.  Delivering over and over in spots where they faltered so much down the stretch.  It was the text book winning formula for October Baseball — great pitching and timely hitting.  The list of heroes for New York is long and somewhat unlikely, at least to the teams’ critics.  Curtis Granderson had an unbelievable series even though the Twins started left handed pitchers in two of the three games, and Lance Berkman came up huge in Game 2, delivering two go ahead hits.  The first after the Twins jumped out in front and the second after the Twins rallied to tie the game.

The biggest reason the Yankees are moving on is their pitching.  So many people in the game said that there was no one to answer the bell after CC Sabathia.  Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes weren’t only good enough to keep the Yankees in the game, they dominated Twins hitters for almost the entire series and the bullpen, another red flag down the stretch, came up with one big out after another.  They kept the Twins at bay in the late stages, which became the difference in games that were decided from the seventh inning on.  In Game 3, they shut the door on an 8th inning rally, refusing to allow the Twins back into the game.

Now there is time to celebrate and to recover.  The ALCS will begin on Friday in either Arlington or Tampa.  Both will provide unique challenges, but that discussion is for later.  Tonight, the Yankees will celebrate, and deservedly so.  They were counted out by the prognosticators.  Deemed unfit to defend their World Series Title.  No one will ever call the Yankees underdogs.  With their ALDS sweep of the Twins, the Yankees have put the baseball world on notice. Goliath is alive and well in Gotham.

The New York Post has reported that AJ Burnett will not pitch in the ALDS and CC Sabathia will most likely be the game four pitcher (on three days’ rest).

Pitching on three days’ rest is nothing new for Sabathia. He did it during the entire 2009 postseason run and did it down the stretch for the Brewers in 2008. This time, however, the rest of the starters behind him are question marks. In all likelihood, Andy Pettitte will follow Sabathia in game two and Phil Hughes will pitch game three. Pettitte hasn’t pitched very well since returning from injury and Hughes’ great start has been soured by some tough outings in the second half of the year.

Sabathia is the one solid rock in the Yankees’ rotation and if the Yankees don’t win when Sabathia starts, they will not win the World Series. It’s as simple as that. The Yankees have to win every one of Sabathia’s starts in the postseason to have a shot because the rest of the starters have question marks around them. I know Pettitte is a big game pitcher and he proved that in last year’s playoff run, but he stayed relatively healthy the entire year and wasn’t coming into the postseason with a few sub-par starts in late September under is belt.

To say the Yankees haven’t been playing well of late is an understatement, but I do think that they are going to start playing better. The Yankees will ride on Sabathia’s back this postseason. If they win both of Sabathia’s starts in the ALDS, they will need to win just one of the three other games to advance. That’s definitely doable. The ALCS becomes a different story, but let’s worry about that when the Yankees get there.

According to the Yankees LoHud Blog, “The move is strictly to cut back on his innings. He will make three more starts, not four, before the all-star break.”

The Yankees four game set in Detroit received an impromptu abbreviation on Tuesday night.  But tonight’s lament is tomorrow’s dream.  For baseball lovers anyway.  Not one chance to see your favorite team play, but two.  It hearkens back to a time when Doubleheaders were scheduled, and fans could circle the dates, knowing that they could spend the whole day at the ballpark.

But for the Yankees, and their recent rash of injuries, a doubleheader means extra wear and tear on a veteran team that has already seen it’s depth depleted.  Just four games into a stretch that has the Yankees scheduled to play games in seventeen consecutive days, the day off may be a reprieve.  But this is their only visit to Detroit this season, making the day-night doubleheader necessary.  Health, and the toll on the arms in the bullpen are issues that will be front and center tomorrow.

Yankee fans will have some extra time to grow the nails they’ll be biting when Javier Vazquez takes the mound for Game 1 at 1:05.  Vazquez’s starts have been frustrating to say the least, as most people are waiting for him to show signs of the dominant pitcher he was for Atlanta last season.  He now has more time to think about his sixth start of the season.  Whether that’s a blessing or a curse is yet to be determined.  The Yankees should have no trouble scoring runs against Tigers starter, Rick Porcello, which might allow Vazquez to not think he has to make perfect pitches on every batter.

To complete the Jekyll and Hyde scenario, the Yankees will send Phil Hughes to the hill for the nightcap.  Though there was much debate among Yankee fans during Spring Training about whether or not Hughes should be the 5th starter over Joba Chamberlain.  It has been quickly quelled as Hughes has been nothing short of dominant in the early going.

Regardless of the concerns or anticipation.  One thing is for sure. A day where the Yankees play twice is always a good day.  Enjoy the games.

But the good vibes were quelled quickly on Tuesday as the bats fell silent and the bullpen couldn’t piggyback on a gutsy outing by Phil Hughes, as the Yankees aided the Orioles in attaining their first home win of the season.

Concern spread across the Empire that the teams quick start may be grinding to a halt and that their bullpen, an incredible advantage in 2009, was showing signs of being very human. But that all changed in less than twenty-four hours. The Yankees teed off on Oriole’s starter Jeremy Gthrie. What was most impressive was that, of the eight runs scored, the 3-4 combo of Teixeira and Rodriguez accounted for only one of them, a sac-fly by A-rod.

On the hill, CC Sabathia showed why he is an ace by holding the Orioles to 3 runs in 7.2 innings. And just like that, the Yankees were back to their winning ways. That momentum carried over into Thursday night as AJ Burnett hurled a gem shutting out the Orioles with 8 innings of 3 hit ball before Rivera came on in the 9th to pitch in a non-save situation.

The offense, while quieter than Wednesday, was led by Robinson Cano, the American League’s leading hitter. His two home run performance left him batting a torrid .407. It is Cano who is carrying both the power and run production of the big bats in the middle of the Yankees line up. He his as much responsible for their strong start out of the gate as is the starting staff.

With Texeira’s typically slow start and A-Rod not quite finding his power swing yet. It is Cano who is making opposing pitchers pay. It is unlikey that he will hit .400 for year, but when Teixeira & A-Rod do turn it on. It will be an impressive display of power in the heart of the Yankees lineup.

The pitching staff also seemed to have found it’s grove after it suffered a hiccup out west. Despite the no-Decision, Phil Hughes was brilliant on a night when it appeared he didn’t have his best stuff. CC and AJ followed suit with dominating performances. So, the Yankees head home after the 9 game trip in just about the same shape they left, firing on almost all cylinders.