My 5 rainy reasons.

It has been a busy week. Between infant CPR classes, maternity ward tours, and preparing for my third (and hopefully final) MFT test, there wasn't much time left over for blogging. Luckily, there hasn't been much going on for this LSF blogger since the last post on Monday. Of course, there has been plenty going on for the others, most notably the continuation of the LSF record Andrew/Jon/Brandon post strike of 94 days!

So, we are finally at the ALDS after an long layoff (remember, we swept the Red Sox?!), and we might get rained out for the very first game! As is becoming tradition before a huge game/series around the LSF, I present to you my 5 reasons that my Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will defeat the New York Yankees:

1) History: Let's face it, historical outcomes are going to drive the stories in this series (that, and the whole Mark Teixeira and Bobby Abreu thing). The Angels have gone up against the Pinstripes twice in the playoffs, and dispatched of them both times. In 2002, the Angels came in as the wild card and beat the Yankees en route to their only World Series Championship. Then, in 2005, the Angels proved it was no fluke in beating the Yankees again to advance to the memorable series loss in that ALCS to the White Sox. It has long been pointed out that the Angels are one of the more successful teams in baseball when going against the Yanks in general (87-72 all time), and that has to be taken into account as well. This season, however, it has been damn tight. The Angels and the Yanks split their season series 5-5 here in 2009, with 7 of those games being decided by 3 runs or less. Of course, there were blowouts as well, all being on the Angels side. The Angels beat the Yanks 8-4, 10-6, and 14-8, earning the only big wins in the season series. We have the history behind us to help beat these guys hard. Just to be fair, there is a down side to history, where the Angels are just 28-52 on the road against NYY.

2) Team offense: Everyone in the media (and thus everyone you talk to) is going to say that the Yankees had a better offense than the Angels thanks to winning the regular season run battle 871-864. But, let's delve a little deeper to show how the Angels' bats were actually ripping better than our AL East counterparts. Batting average was in favor of the Angels: .280 vs. .277. How about slugging? Yep, Halos: .472 vs. .450. Total bases? Yep, Red Hats: 2659 vs. 2500. Home runs? You have to be kidding! Nope, Halos: 236 vs. 205. The Angels team offense also leads the Yankees offense in hits, double, triples, RBI, OPS, intentional walks, and sacrifice hits. Contrary to popular belief, though, the Yankees led the Angels in stolen bases, 99-93. Outside of that, I think you have to give the offensive nod to the Halos, believe it or not.

3) Larger rotation: While some may think that it's better to just have 3 solid pitchers, I'm leaning toward the idea that having more solid starting pitching is going to pay off in a longer best of 7 series. Most are picking one team or the other in seven games, and when you only go with three starters, you are asking for guys to come through on short rest. Meanwhile, the Angels are sending four (Lackey, Saunders, Weaver, and Kaz), which will allow the boys in Red to get way more rest, and thus be more solid come game 5. When we get to game 5 (when, not if), the Angels will be sending their #1 against the Yankees #2, and this could be the difference in the game. Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettitte? Not enough rest = not enough on the mound. Advantage Halos.

4) Bullpen: I never would have given the Angels the edge in any playoff series based on the bullpen until I watched our boys come out crazy good in support of our starters against the Red Sox in the ALDS. Darren Oliver: 2.3 innings of shutout ball. Brian Fuentes: 1.67 innings of shutout, no hit ball. Jason Bulger: 1 inning of shutout, no hit ball. Kevin Jepsen may have allowed a run in his 1.3 innings of work, but if Scioscia can continue to manage this pen the way he did in the brief ALDS, we'll be in good shape after our starters head to the dugout. Keep in mind, BFF is going to have to make way more of an impact in this series than the last. Meanwhile, the Yanks have Phil Hughes (2 innings of 2 run ball), Mariano Rivera (3.67 innings of 4 hit ball), and Damaso Marte (0 innings of 2 hit ball). If our pen can hold like it did against the Sox, we'll be in a good place.

5) Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: Being Catholic, I have a pretty good understanding of who Jesus is rooting for in this series. There is no way Jesus is a Yankees fan, he's all Angels, and that gives us a serious advantage.

So tonight, weather permitting, we get it on with John Lackey (1-0, 0.00 in the ALDS) going up against C.C. Sabathia (1-0, 1.35 in the ALDS) to get this series underway. These first two games against the Yankees, in New York, are crucial. The Angels need to steal a win, and steal home field advantage.

Let's do it, boys.