CC to Pitch Games 1 & 4 of ALCS

First, I would like to introduce myself to The Fowl Balls' followers. I am the Black Cat. Jimmy D has asked me to contribute to the site and deliver some quality Yankee Baseball reading material. So listen up bitches; pay attention, and enjoy.

PS- Nice job by SI picking the Mets to win the WS this season as you can see by the SI cover at the top. Talk about a sinking ship...

Friday in the Bronx, Game 1 of the ALCS starts with CC Sabathia on the bump against John Lackey. I'm not going to lie and be a d-bag Yankees fan; the Angels have good starting pitchers. A rotation of Lackey, Saunders, Weaver, and Kazmir is not a walk[off] in the park. However, it's looking like Girardi will lean toward a 3 man rotation, with the beast himself pitching game 4, and Burnett and Pettitte being the meat in the CC sandwich. People may overanalyze statistics and say, "Oh, CC isn't a good postseason pitcher" based on his work the Indians and the Brewers. Well guess what folks, those teams sucked, and now CC is surrounded by a gaggle of All-Stars and some future Hall of Famers. Back to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim... Lackey is 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 12 career postseason games (10 starts). We all know he is a good pitcher and that the Yanks struggle with the Angels. But you know what? The batting order is absolutely terrifying to any pitcher in baseball. Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Arod, Matsui, Posada, Cano, Swisher, and (even) Melky. I find no reason not to win a ballgame with that lineup. The Halos have some good players too, including former Yankee Bobby Abreu, who no doubt will be looking to hit the crap out of the ball every at bat. Not too many holes in the Angels lineup, so it should be a well-played series.

But enough of the fair is fair BS. I want a sweep. I want a sweep in the worst way. I know it's not very likely, but this is what every Yankee fan wants. Seven straight postseason wins going into the World Series. Alex Rodriguez is on fire in October; this is scary now. After that shot off Nathan on Friday night (a shot which Jimmy D and I both knew was coming), I knew for sure that ARod was a different player. He seems relaxed and unphased at the plate, locking in and coming up with big, clutch hits. Jeter is the usual postseason Jeter, and Andy Pettitte looked like a kid again, pitching 6 1/3 innings of 1 run, 3 hit, 7 K ball. I like the team's chances playing the Angels, but I have to admit it would have been sweet to kick the shit out of the Red Sox.

So long folks, and goodluck to the Yanks in Game 1 of the ALCS. 8 more W's in the quest for 27....