New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins, 4 PM ET (Game 4)
With Johan Santana at home (provided he's healthy), the Twins should have an edge today. But if the Twins are behind after the 7th it's likely to be all over, as I expect Rivera to come in and get the 6-out save. I'm pulling for the Twins to win and take their chances in Yankee Stadium. It would be great to see the Yankees lose the series in their home ballpark.
| versus | AB | H | HR | TB | W | K | HBP | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | K pct | W pct |
| right | 729 | 162 | 19 | 264 | 75 | 231 | 2 | 4 | 3 | .297 | .362 | .287 | .093 |
| left | 255 | 49 | 5 | 75 | 21 | 75 | 2 | 3 | 2 | .259 | .294 | .270 | .076 |
Santana was brilliant in 4 innings before being removed due to dehydration. He faced 16 batters, walked 2 and struck out 3. Of the 11 balls in play, the Yankees counted 3 hits. I think he can go 7 inning and give up 2 or fewer runs, and that should give the Twins the lead going into the 8th.
| Player | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | W | K | SB | CS | HBP | avg | obp | slg |
| A Soriano | 268 | 84 | 20 | 2 | 14 | 21 | 56 | 16 | 9 | 4 | .313 | .372 | .560 |
| D Jeter | 221 | 76 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 11 | 0 | 15 | .344 | .429 | .489 |
| J Giambi | 300 | 74 | 14 | 0 | 15 | 53 | 85 | 1 | 0 | 15 | .247 | .386 | .443 |
| B Williams | 296 | 95 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 49 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 3 | .321 | .422 | .459 |
| J Posada | 257 | 80 | 22 | 0 | 13 | 41 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .311 | .412 | .549 |
| H Matsui | 194 | 55 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .284 | .335 | .376 |
| A Boone | 303 | 68 | 20 | 2 | 9 | 42 | 48 | 14 | 3 | 3 | .224 | .325 | .393 |
| N Johnson | 131 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .237 | .363 | .382 |
| J Rivera | 58 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .328 | .361 | .603 |
notes: OBP is calculated without including sac flies (H+W+HBP)/(AB+W+HBP); player in red indicates the batter is at a platoon disadvantage.
Will the Yankees play more small ball than is typical, or will they wait out Santana and hope for walks? I prefer the latter approach, hoping to run up Santana's pitch count (usually good strategy against a young power pitcher).
| versus | AB | H | HR | TB | W | K | HBP | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | K pct | W pct |
| right | 1255 | 354 | 32 | 539 | 46 | 173 | 5 | 23 | 5 | .310 | .429 | .132 | .035 |
| left | 403 | 98 | 13 | 165 | 19 | 65 | 8 | 7 | 4 | .291 | .409 | .151 | .045 |
David Wells has the reputation off beinmg a big-game pitcher, actually all the Yankees starters do. If he shuts down the Twins today, everyone will commend Torre for going with the grizzled veteran (instead of the guy with better stuff, Jose Contreras). If he gets shelled, it will quickly be forgotten. Wells is only a little better against lefties than righties, so the Twins'lefty-weighted lineup shouldn't be a handicap for the homeside.
| Player | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | W | K | SB | CS | HBP | avg | obp | slg |
| S Stewart | 268 | 85 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 30 | 35 | 5 | 4 | 4 | .317 | .394 | .474 |
| L Rivas | 237 | 51 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 42 | 6 | 5 | 2 | .215 | .273 | .325 |
| D Mientkiewicz | 320 | 86 | 21 | 0 | 12 | 41 | 44 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .269 | .364 | .447 |
| T Hunter | 336 | 92 | 22 | 3 | 15 | 33 | 66 | 13 | 5 | 1 | .274 | .341 | .491 |
| AJ Pierzynski | 224 | 62 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 10 | .277 | .316 | .429 |
| M Cuddyer | 84 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .238 | .312 | .345 |
| J Jones | 305 | 73 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 91 | 5 | 3 | 3 | .239 | .284 | .361 |
| C Koskie | 329 | 79 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 41 | 100 | 6 | 3 | 9 | .240 | .340 | .380 |
| C Guzman | 378 | 96 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 52 | 9 | 8 | 2 | .254 | .291 | .384 |
notes: OBP is calculated without including sac flies (H+W+HBP)/(AB+W+HBP); player in red indicates the batter is at a platoon disadvantage.
The Twins and the Cubs have the weakest offenses of the 8 playoff teams. Gardenhire has benched Matt LeCroy after a poor series to date. LeCroy has stuggled against righties and hit lefties well over the past 2 years, which is why it is odd that Gardenhire waited to Game 4 to make a change. Cuddyer will get a start. Luis Rivas is again batting second - sigh. It seems to me that the Twins manager has been far too reactive, and doesn't have a solid plan laid out in advance.
